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Abstract: Many works show the dependence of precipitation δ 18O on altitude and latitude as a result of air temperature change. The assumption that these quantitative relations can hold across a large geographical region can be used to give a rough estimation of local precipitation δ 18O where there is on direct observation of precipitation δ 18O. Although there truly exists uncertainty in the estimation, an effect was made in this paper to establish the precipitation δ 18O pattern over the whole China. Based on regional topography and the δ 18O of meteoric precipitation, this paper established a quantitative relationship between δ 18O in precipitation and latitude and altitude using the existing δ 18O data from 55 sites over China. The model describes as δ 18Oppt =−0.0073LAT2+0.3261LAT−0.0015ALT−9.7776, and was used to generate a higher-resolution map of mean annual δ 18O for precipitation over China using geographic information system software, integrating with latitude, altitude and the moisture cycle. This determination of the spatial distribution of δ 18O in modern precipitation of China provides important information for ancient climate and stable isotope hydrology studies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]