Abstract: From 1895 to 1950, Chinese physical anthropology paid attention to combine the study with teaching, to integrate physical measurement with cultural investigation, and to keep close links between biology and archaeology. The study purposes of Chinese physical anthropology lied in revealing the physical traits and diversity of nations. In the initial stage, the study and teaching of anthropology had been developed mostly by the foreign scholars; in the later period, the Chinese indigenous scholars pushed it forward. In addition, the development of Chinese physical anthropology in the later stagewas deeply influenced by the war between China and Japan. In prewar days, the studies were made in Northeast China, North China, East China and South China; during the war, the studies were developed in the Southwest China; after the war, the studies were conducted in the Southeast and South China.

Key words: Chinese physical anthropology; Anthropometric measurement; Anthropology teaching