China has a large area of gelisols distributed with a particular pattern, which is of great importance to the research on formaticn and distribution of gelisols in the world. The gelisols of China have two types: high-latitude and high-altitude gelisols. High-latitude gelisols are distributed in the Northeast region, 53-46°N latitude, with an area of 38.2×10⁴km² As their latitude is high but altitude is low, the scils have a series of characteristics influenced by the high latitude. High-altitude gelisols mainly occur in the Qinghai-Xizang plateau and western high anottutains, with an area of 176×10⁴km² which accounts for 75.7% of the total area of high-altitude gelisols in the Northern Hemisphere and ranks the first in the world. Most of them are dispersed in the regions south to 35°N latitude, and some even to 27°N latitude. Their location is high in altitude but low in latitude, and their characteristics are affected by the altitude.