Sugarcane mosaic virus (SCMV) was detected in all 62 maize samples collected from eight maize-growing provinces in China showing dwarf mosaic symptoms by immunocapture reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Maize dwarf mosaic virus (MDMV), Sorghum mosaic virus (SrMV) and Johnsongrass mosaic virus (JGMV), however, were not detected in any of the samples by RT-PCR. Eleven cDNA fragments of approximately 0.8 kilobases covering most of the coat protein (CP) gene of SCMV were sequenced and sequence analysis indicates that these eleven isolates share 98.1 to 100 % identity at the amino acid level. Sequence comparison and phylogenetic analysis of the CP genes from the eleven Chinese isolates as well as 21 SCMV subgroup virus isolates indicate that the eleven Chinese virus isolates were closely related to SCMV with 97.0 to 98.1 % sequence identity at the amino acid level, while relatively lower sequence identity was found with MDWV, SrMV or JGMV. The results indicate that the Chinese isolates are members of the SCMV species, and thus, SCMV can be considered as the most common and important potyvirus infecting maize in China.