Abstract: Since Mr. Lin Qibin described the first Palaeozoic insect of China in 1978, more than 20 contributions of the Palaeozoic insects in China have appeared. Sixty-one species assigned to 9 orders (and/or superorders) were described. Among them, 47 species came from Carboniferous and 14 species from Permian. All the fossil specimens were found from 9 provinces distributed in northwestern, southwestern and eastern China. In this article, a list of Chinese described Palaeozoic insect species with their distribution and geological age data is provided, an investigation and review of the current knowledge and research of Chinese Palaeozoic insects is summarized, and the problems in the study are analyzed. Among them, the variation on wing venation of fossil insects and the erection of high rank taxa should be given sufficient attention. The current results demonstrate that the Palaeozoic insects in China have been highly diverse and represent an important stage of evolutionary radiation of Pterygota with the appearance of Palaeoptera and Neoptera.

Key words:  Fossil insects, Pterygota, taxonomy, Palaeozoic, Carboniferous, Permian, China