Given the population size of China (1.3 billion persons) [6] , the varied health utilization and economic development, the diverse climate (tropical to subarctic), and the range of population densities, the burden of pneumonia in China would be expected to be large and highly variable across regions. Despite overall trends from these studies suggesting that pneumonia incidence and mortality are stable or decreasing, pneumonia continues to be a major public health concern in China [7] . The studies in this review found incidence of pneumonia in children ,5 years of age that were as low as what has been estimated for the developed world globally (0.05 episodes per person-year) and that were as high as what has been estimated for the developing world (0.29 episodes per person-year) [52] . The studies included in this review reported pneumonia incidence for children ,5 years of age (0.06± 0.27 episodes per person-year from 1985 to 2008) that was similar or less than what has been estimated for China (0.22 episodes per person-year in 2008) [3] . Although the studies reported a wide range of pneumonia mortality estimates (184±1,223 deaths per 100,000 population), these are consistent with pneumonia remaining the leading cause of childhood mortality in China [7] . While the data summarized here provide insights into pneumonia in China, they also serve as a reminder that reliable and high quality national and regional data on pneumonia incidence and etiology are needed to adequately direct prevention and control efforts.