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Abstract In this study, synoptic situations associated with extreme hourly precipitation over China are investigated using rain gauge data, weather maps, and composite radar reflectivity data. Seasonal variations of hourly precipitation (>0.1 mm h−1) suggest complicated regional features in the occurrence frequency and intensity of rainfall. The 99.9th percentile is thus used as the threshold to define the extreme hourly rainfall for each station. The extreme rainfall is the most intense over the south coastal areas and the North China Plain. About 77% of the extreme rainfall records occur in summer with a peak in July (30.4%) during 1981–2013. Nearly 5800 extreme hourly rainfall records in 2011–15 are classified into four types according to the synoptic situations under which they occur: the tropical cyclone (TC), surface front, vortex/shear line, and weak-synoptic forcing. They contribute 8.0%, 13.9%, 39.1%, and 39.0%, respectively, to the total occurrence and present distinctive characteristics in regional distribution and seasonal or diurnal variations. The TC type occurs most frequently along the coasts and decreases progressively toward inland China; the frontal type is distributed relatively evenly east of 104°E; the vortex/shear line type shows a prominent center over the Sichuan basin with two high-frequency bands extending from the center southeastward and northeastward, respectively; and the weak-synoptic type occurs more frequently in southeast, southwest, and northern China, and in the easternmost area of northeast China. Occurrences of the weak-synoptic type have comparable contributions from mesoscale convective systems and smaller-scale storms with notable differences in their preferred locations.