[Objective] China nowadays has approximately 100 million people suffering from zinc (Zn) deficiency, mainly because they live on cereal crops as their staple food and hence fail to take in adequate Zn, especially in the rural areas. As one of the major wheat-producing areas, the Huanghuai Plain contributes to about 70% of the wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) grain yield of China. So it is of great significance to understand causes of the variation of Zn concentration in wheat grains to guarantee high-yield and high-quality wheat production in the region, so as to ensure food security and human health.[Method] Combined with a two-year in situ farm survey, samples of wheat shoot (the aboveground part) and soil in the 0~100 cm layer were collected from 276 randomly selected farmers' fields during the wheat harvesting season in the Huanghuai wheat production region for analysis of Zn concentration. Comparison was made between wheat grains produced in Zn-deficient (DTPA-Zn<1.0 mg·kg^-1) and non-Zn-deficient (DTPA-Zn ≥ 1.0 mg·kg^-1) soils in grain Zn concentration and correlation analysis performed of grain Zn concentration with grain yield, yield components, fertilization rates, soil nutrients in the 0-100 cm layer, and Zn uptake and utilization of the crop, separately.[Result] Results show that 42% and 58% of the wheat fields in the region were of Zn-deficient (DTPA-Zn<1.0 mg·kg^-1) and non-Zn-deficient (DTPA-Zn ≥ 1.0 mg·kg^-1) soils, and produced grains with Zn concentration ranging from 16 to 52 mg·kg^-1 and from 17 to 58 mg·kg^-1, respectively. About 7% and 9% of the grain samples from the two types of wheat fields met the recommended criterion (≥ 40 mg·kg^-1) for grain Zn concentration. Generally, the farmers in the region prefer to grow local specific elite cultivars of wheat, however, it was difficult to identify high-Zn or potentially high-Zn traits of the cultivars due to the limited sample size at a regional scale. In this survey, the selected wheat fields did not receive any Zn fertilizer or other Zn-containing fertilizers, and only 10% and 18% of the fields of Zn-deficient soil and non-Zn-deficient soil were applied with organic manure. In the fields of Zn-deficient soils, grain Zn concentration had nothing to do with nitrogen (N) and potassium (K) fertilization rates, but did negatively, with phosphorus (P) fertilization rate (r=-0.273, P < 0.01) and available P in the 0-20 cm soil layer (r=-0.283, P < 0.01). In the two groups of wheat fields, high and low in grain Zn concentration, with soil available P being 13 and 20 mg·kg^-1, and available Zn being 0.8 and 0.7 mg·kg^-1 in 0-20 cm soil, P₂O₅ fertilizer was applied at 65.8 and 68.4 kg·hm^-2to achieve targeted grain yield. Also, the grain yield and shoot Zn uptake were observed to be lower in the fields of Zn-deficient soils(7 204 kg·hm^-2 and 279 g·hm^-2) than in the fields of non-Zn-deficient soils (7 857 kg·hm^-2 and 318 g·hm^-2). In the fields of non-Zn-deficient soils, grain Zn concentration had nothing to do with N and K fertilization rates, either, but was negatively related to P fertilization rate (r=-0.181, P < 0.05) and positively to soil available Zn in the 0-20 cm (r=0.236, P < 0.01) and 20-40 cm (r=0.183, P < 0.05) soil layers. In the two groups of wheat fields of Zn-deficient and non-Zn-deficient soils, with available P being 29 and 30 mg·kg^-1, and available Zn being 3.3 and 2.2 mg·kg^-1 in the 0-20 cm soil layer, P fertilizer was applied at a rate of 112 and 145 kg P₂O₅·hm^-2, respectively, and P₂O₅ requirement for targeted average grain yield reached 69.2 and 70.8 kg·hm^-2, respectively.[Conclusion] Therefore, it could be considered that it is advisable to address the problem of lack of available soil Zn firstly, by increasing the content of soil available Zn up to the critical values of 1.0 and 3.0 mg·kg^-1 in the fields of Zn-deficient and non-Zn-deficient soils, respectively, and then to reduce P fertilizer application rate and hence available soil P content, so as to alleviate the negative effect of excessive P on crop Zn uptake and accumulation, for the purpose of maintaining high grain yield and improving grain Zn nutrition simultaneously in winter wheat grown in the Huanghuai wheat production region of China.