The Han being the majority (>92%), and the remaining 55 nationalities being the national minorities. In addition to the 56 official nationalities, there are some Chinese who classify themselves as members of unrecognized nationalities. Also, foreign nationals who have become Chinese citizens form yet another separate group.

Official ideology places all Chinese nationalities as being part of a broader nationality known as zhonghua minzu.

Although most of the nationalities can be seen as ethnic groups, the correspondence is not one to one. For example, many Hui Chinese are indistinguishable from Han Chinese except for the fact that they practice Islam. Conversely, Hakka are often thought of as an ethnic group, but they generally considered a member of the Han nationality.

While Han Chinese make up the vast majority of China's total population, the population distribution is highly uneven with large parts of western China having Han Chinese as a minority. In addition the lumping of most Chinese into the majority Han, obscures some of the large linguistic, cultural, and racial differences between persons within that group.

The multinational nature of China results in part by territories incorporated by the Qing dynasty, whose emperors were themselves Manchu and not members of the majority Han. Chinese nationalities theory is heavily influenced by that of the Soviet Union. Official policy is against assimilation and maintains that each nationality should have the right to develop its own culture and language.

The degree of integration of minority nationality with the national community varies widely from group to group. With some groups, such as the Tibetans and the Uighurs there is a great deal of resentment against the majority. Other groups such as the Zhuang, Hui Chinese, and ethnic Koreans are well integrated into the national community.

In order of population these are:

Han
Zhuang
Manchu
Hui
Miao
Uighurå)
Yi
Tujia
Mongol
Tibetan
Buyi
Dong
Yao
Korean
Bai
Hani
Li
Kazakh
Dai (also called Dai Lue, one of Thai ethnic groups)
She
Lisu
Gelao
Lahu
Dongxiang
Wa (Va)
Shui
Naxi (includes the Mosuo)
Qiang
Du
Xibe
Mulam
Kirghizå)
Daur
Jingpo
Salar
Blang (Bulang)
Maonan
Tajik
Pumi
Achang
Nu
Evenki
Gin
Jino
De'ang
Uzbek)
Russian
Yugur
Bonan
Menba
Oroqin
Drung
Tatar
Hezhen
Lhoba
Gaoshan(Taiwanese aborigine)