As an important meteorological parameter,atmospheric precipitable water exerts great impact on many climatic processes such as the formation of precipitation,the absorption and emission of radiation,even the formation and change of the whole climate.There are several methods available for calculation of atmospheric precipitable water.This paper uses the NCEP reanalysis data to obtain multi-year mean atmospheric precipitable water,and analyses the spatial distribution and seasonal variation of the atmospheric precipitable water in China,then compares the obtained atmospheric precipitable water data with that form sounding data in the same period.The spatial distribution analysis shows that the atmospheric precipitable water is higher in low latitudes than in high latitudes,higher in plain than in plateau,higher in coastal area than in interior area.The atmospheric precipitable water shows an obvious seasonal variation,which is low in winter,and high in summer.The calculation result of atmospheric precipitable water based on NCEP reanalysis data is close to that from sounding data,and the average relative error is less than 19.5%.Thus the proposed method is applicable on estimation of atmospheric precipitable water in China.