Abstract: ObjectiveTo estimate the prevalence of dementia in the elderly aged 60 years and over in China between 2000 and 2012 using meta-analysis.MethodsPublications between 2000 and 2012 were extracted from PubMed,Springer Link,China National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI),Wanfang Databases and Chinese Science and Technology Journal Databases(VIP).Observational studies on prevalence of dementia were included.The prevalence of dementia was combined by meta-analysis.Subgroup analysis was undertook by gender,age,region,marital status and dementia subtypes.ResultsA total of 19 papers were included in this study.The total number of participants investigated was 56 988,with 3 176 dementia cases identified.The prevalence of senile dementia in the elderly was 4.8%;the women had a higher prevalence(6.1%)than the men(4.1%);and the prevalence was significant increased with the age.The dementia prevalence in the illiterate population was 7.5%,higher than 4.1% in the literate population.The prevalence of dementia in the people married was 4.5%,lower than in the people unmarried(8.2%).The major subtypes of dementia in the elderly were Alzheimer's disease(AD)and vascular dementia(VD),with the prevalences of 3.3% and 0.9%.ConclusionDementia among the population aged 60 years and over in China is prevalent,and attention should be paid to the prevalence among the public.