Abstract: Objective To analyse whether the components of the metabolic syndrome(MS)tend to cluster rather than occur by coincidence and to describe the distribution of MS components in residents of Jiangsu province.Methods 6 571 adults were recruited fr om the population of prevention progr am of multiple metabolic disorders and MS in Jiangsu province.The National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel Ⅲ Asian criteria was used to define MS.The Bayliss theorem was used to determine whether the components of MS have a char acter of clustering or not.Results The prevalence of some(ten out of sixteen)combinations of components were much higher than expected(P<0.01),meanwhile,the prevalence of a combination of three or more components of MS was higher than the predicted one as the growing number of the components.The prevalence of obesity(76.73%/14.94%)and elevated fasting plasma glucose(34.02%/6.73%)were much higher in MS when compared with the prevalence of individuals without MS.Conclusion The components of MS are really clustered r ather than occured by coincidence,and the obesity and elevated fasting plasma glucose are clustered more often than other components of MS.