Abstract: To timely grasp the status of medical higher education institutions in China, the National Center for Medical Education Development established the Directory of Higher Education Institutions in China (Medicine) in June 2020 based on literature research, clarifying its inclusion scope, criteria, data sources and update procedures. As of June 2025, among 506 higher education institutions offering medical majors in China, 240 (47.4%) are in Eastern China, 144 (28.5%) in Central China and 122 (24.1%) in Western China; 439 (86.8%) are public undergraduate universities and 67 (13.2%) non-public ones; 112 (22.1%) are medical colleges and 394 (77.9%) other types; 76 (15.0%) are under the Ministry of Education and other central ministries, and 430 (85.0%) under local education authorities. In terms of majors, 326 (64.4%) offer pharmacy, 305 (60.3%) nursing and 296 (58.5%) Medical Technology, ranking the highest. Besides, 242 (47.8%) have a master's degree and doctoral degree authorization. China's medical higher education institutions feature an ″east-strong-west-weak″ geographical distribution, with public undergraduate universities as the main body, diversified institutional types, local education authorities as the main competent departments, application-oriented major layout and a high proportion of postgraduate degree authorization. The catalogue clearly presents their distribution characteristics, providing data support for policy formulation, institutional positioning and talent matching.

Key words: China, Medical education, Higher education institutions, Institutional directory, Construction status