Abstract: Objective Toinvestigate char acteristic distribution and time trend of cancer mortality in Kaifeng county.Methods The cancer mortality was analyzed using the data from registry on malignant tumors deaths in Kaifeng county during 1988 to2005.A ge-standarized mortality rate adjusted by standard population with direct methods,and annual percent age change(APC)of mor tality were estimated by a linear regression of the logarithm.Results The crude cancer mortality was 95.09/100,000 and 59.13/100,000,age-standarized mortality was 117.41/100,000 and 57.15/100,000 for male and femaler espectively.Over the 18-years period,the age-standarized mortality rate significantly incr eased for liver cancer(APC=5.07%)in males,and the rates significantly decreased for esophageal cancer in both of sexes(APC=-7.09%,APC=-13.53%).During the same time,the rates for all cancers combined and other sites of cancer showed a nonsignificant change.Conclusion From 1988 to 2005,the mortality rates for some of commonl digestive system cancer varied significantly in Kaifeng county.