Abstract:China's economy has developed rapidly in recent decades, but it also brought the persistent pollutants of mercury emissions to the atmosphere rapidly. Mercury as a global pollutant, Chinese mercury emission has received a considerable attention internationally. Thus, this paper reviews the current understanding of and knowledge on atmospheric Hg emissions, distribution transport and deposition in China. Anthropogenic mercury annual emissions from China was the highest in the word and up to about 500~700t, which was more than 25~30% of the global anthropogenic emissions and with an annual increase rate of 4.6%. Emissions of Hg from natural surfaces (including bare soil, water, and vegetation covered soil) was comparable to anthropogenic emissions by the estimation from existing model. Atmospheric Hg exhibits a significant concentration variability among urban, semi-remote, and remote areas. Total Gaseous Mercury (TGM) concentrations in urban areas of China were often 1.5~5 folds higher compared to the corresponding settings in North America and Europe. In turn, particulate mercury (PHg) concentrations in urban areas of China were up to two orders of magnitude higher compared to North America and Europe. TGM, PHg and reactive gaseous mercury (RGM) in coastal areas and remote areas of China were lower than that in central cities, but they were still higher than the corresponding settings in North America and Europe. Accordingly, Hg deposition fluxes tended to be higher in China, with urban areas and remote areas being 1~2 magnitude and1~2 times higher than those in North America and Europe, respectively.