Abstract: Objective To uncover the characteristics of distribution of hepatitis B virus （HBV） genotypes in China. Methods Papers on study of HBV genotypes in China were searched in Wanfang and NCBI databases, and the epidemic zone were classified by different regions,ethnicity,and category of liver diseases. The data of these studies were analyzed by meta-analysis to observe the distribution of genotypes and related clinical significance in each classification. Results In China,the genotypes B and genotype C of hepatitis B virus were the main genotypes;The HBV A,B,C,B/C,D and other genotype infection in patients in area 1 （North area） were 0.1%,22.2%,69.1%,3.8%,0.5% and 1.5%,with genotype C significantly higher than patients in other areas （P<0.05）;The HBV A,B,C,B/C,D and other genotype infection in patients in area 2 （Central area） were 0.2%,62.6%,27.4%,3.8%,0.5% and 2.4%,with genotype B significantly higher than patients in other areas （P<0.05）; In area 3 （South area）,the HBV A,B,C,B/C,D and other genotype infection were 0.6%,36.3%,49.4%,2.8%,2.6% and 3.4%,with genotype C significantly higher than patients in area 2（27.4%,P<0.05）;In area 4 （Qinghai-Tibet plateau）,the HBV B,C,D and other genotype infection were 6.0%,22.5%,11.7%,59.3%,with genotype C/D significantly higher than patients in other areas（all P<0.05）;Additionally,genotype distribution among different nationalities was significantly different. Genotype C/D recombination（49.3%） in Tibetan population was significantly higher than patients in other nationalities （all P<0.05）,and genotype D in Kazak was 58.1%,significantly higher than patients in other nationalities （all P<0.05）;Genotype C was significantly positively correlated with chronic hepatitis B,HBV related liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma （Odds ratios:1.979,3.888,4.399,respectively,all P<0.001）. Conclusion The distributions of HBV genotypes in different regions and nationalities are significantly different,and the findings of this study suggests that genotype B might be the original strain of Chinese HBV infection,and genotype C is more likely to cause severe liver damage.

Key words: Hepatitis B, Genotypes, Nationalities, Distribution