Abstract: The Chinese Hepialus moths (Lepidoptera: Hepialidae) are a kind of important resources insects, for their larvae after being infected by the fungus Cordyceps sinensis become the traditional and rare medicinal herbs, the Chinese insect herbs. Sofar thirty six species are known in China, and all are palaearctic species. Amongthem thirty three are endemic to China and restricted to western part of the Qinghai-Xizang plateau, two species are known from central asia and one species from Euro-asian area. The Chinese Hepialus mainly occur in the Alpine meadows of Xizang, Qinghai, Yunnan, Sichuan and Gansu, while a small amount of them scattered in the plastures of Xinjiang, Heilongjiang, Nei Mongol (Inner Mongolia), etc.Nearly ninety five percent of the Chinese Hepialus has a very narrow range ofdistrbution, usually different species are known among different mountain ranges,even from different sides and habitats of the same mountain. We conclude that the distributional centre of this genus is Transhimalaya Mountains, located between 27°-29°N.lat.And95°-103°E. longitude. This area is concentric with eighty percent of known Hepialus. The vertical distribution of these lepidopterans rangesfrom the lowest elevation of 3000m in southern area and circa 2500m in northern area to the highest elevation of 5100m, and with optimal elevation range from 4000 to 4800m. The distributional range of Hepialus mainly is effected by food, vegetation,soil structure, temperature and humidity.

Key words: Hepialus, species, geographical distribution