The purpose of this study was to evaluate the craniofacial and occlusal characteristics of the inhabitants in China. The material consisted of cephalograms, pantomograms, dental casts and anthropological measurements taken from 517 inhabitants: 416 Han Chinese in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Changchun and 101 Mongolians in Hohhot. The data were compared among the above five regions and also with the Japanese data. The findings were summarized as follows: I. Craniofacial characteristics; a) The Han Chinese and the Mongolians showed brachycephaly. b) The inhabitants in Guangzhou showed a tendency of bimaxillary protrusion with a smaller facial height, and the inhabitants in Changchun showed a larger gonial angle with a larger facial height than those of the other regions. c) The Mongolians had a larger value of the saddle angle and of the bi-gonial breadth. d) Compared with the Japanese, their craniofacial complex was characterized by a larger facial angle, smaller mandibular plane angle and a smaller gonial angle. II. Occlusal characteristics; a) The inhabitants in China had a similar tendency in the dental arch form and in the dental trait frequency. b) The inhabitants in Beijing had a larger mesiodistal crown-diameter of the anterior teeth than those in the other regions. c) Compared with the Japanese, their teeth were characterized by a smaller mesiodistal crown-diameter (especially on the upper first molar), higher frequency of shovel-shape and lower frequency of Carabelli's tuberculum.