Research papers and data concerning NPC epidemiology in China available worldwide were reviewed. It was found that although the results of three national all death-causes sampling surveys in China showed mortality rates in most sampling areas and all as overall to be declining continuously and remarkably, figures for 1987-2000 in some selected areas of China released by the World Health Organization were relatively stable, and the NPC incidence and mortality rates reported by Zhongshan and Sihui cities of Guangdong Province in China had shown ascending or stable trends, respectively. Differences with regard to change in NPC incidence and mortality rates over time may be caused by variation in the data quality from divergent sources, but the exact reasons clearly warrant further analysis.