Published data were used to determine the rate of occurrence of cleft lip and /or palate in the Chinese population. The rate of occurrence ranged from 1.33 to 2.23 per 1000 live and stillbirths. Most studies were performed in communities with mixed racial groups, and only three obtained data from multiple sources. Half of the studies included live and still births. The majority of the studies reported pooled figures for subjects with and without other malformations. Furthermore, three different classifications of clefts were used by the authors. Clefts involving the lip and palate had the highest occurrence rate in most studies. Unfortunately, the differences in the rate of occurrence may reflect differences in the technique used for data collection rather than real differences.