The Chinese national ice hockey team is the national men's ice hockey team of the People's Republic of China. The team is controlled by the Chinese Ice Hockey Association and is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). As of 2025, China is ranked 25th in the IIHF World Ranking and 4th in the AIH Asian Ranking.
History China made its World Championship debut in 1972 in Pool C. The team experienced its golden era during the 1980s, achieving its best-ever result at the world championship by finishing 15th in 1982.
Team China began to decline in the early 1990s, struggling with an aging core, lack of replacements, and decreasing government support as the country shifted toward a market-based sports system. China soon dropped to Division IIB (the fifth tier) and spent years ranked between 35th and 40th in the world.
At the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China participated in the men's ice hockey tournament as the host nation, earning an automatic berth despite being ranked just 38th in the IIHF World Ranking at the time of the hosting rights award. In preparation for the Olympic tournament, China naturalized 15 players – 11 of whom were of Chinese descent. While the team failed to earn a single point, it impressed by narrowly losing 2–3 to Germany, the defending Olympic silver medalist.
Beginning in 2023, the Chinese Ice Hockey Association moved away from naturalized players and committed to building a roster of domestic talent. The rejuvenated squad has managed to stay in Division IB for three consecutive years and, in November 2024, took part in the inaugural IIHF Asia Championship.
Tournament record
Olympic Games 2022 – 12th place
World Championship record 1972 – 18th place (5th in Pool C) 1973 – 19th place (5th in Pool C) 1974 – 20th place (6th in Pool C) 1978 – 20th place (4th in Pool C) 1979 – 18th place (Pool B) 1981 – 18th place (2nd in Pool C). Promoted to Pool B 1982 – 15th place (6th in Pool B). Relegated to Pool C 1983 – 19th place (3rd in Pool C) 1985 – 19th place (3rd in Pool C) 1986 – 18th place (2nd in Pool C). Promoted to Pool B 1987 – 16th place (8th in Pool B). Relegated to Pool C 1989 – 19th place (3rd in Pool C) 1990 – 19th place (3rd in Pool C) 1991 – 18th place (2nd in Pool C). Promoted to Pool B 1992 – 19th place (7th in Pool B) 1993 – 19th place (7th in Pool B) 1994 – 20th place (8th in Pool B). Relegated to Pool C 1995 – 25th place (Pool C) 1996 – 27th place (Pool C) 1997 – 27th place (7th in Pool C) 1998 – 28th place (4th in Pool C) 1999 – 28th place (4th in Pool C) 2000 – 26th place (2nd in Pool C). Promoted to Division I 2001 – 27th place (5th in Division I, Group B) 2002 – 28th place (6th in Division I, Group B). Relegated to Division II 2003 – 32nd place (2nd in Division II, Group B) 2004 – 30th place (1st in Division II, Group A). Promoted to Division I 2005 – 28th place (6th in Division I, Group A). Relegated to Division II 2006 – 30th place (1st in Division II, Group B). Promoted to Division I 2007 – 28th place (6th in Division I, Group A). Relegated to Division II 2008 – 32nd place (2nd in Division II, Group B) 2009 – 34th place (3rd in Division II, Group A) 2010 – 38th place (5th in Division II, Group B) 2011 – 36th place (4th in Division II, Group B) 2012 – 36th place (2nd in Division II, Group B) 2013 – 38th place (4th in Division II, Group B) 2014 – 38th place (4th in Division II, Group B) 2015 – 35th place (1st in Division II, Group B) Promoted to Division II, Group A 2016 – 34th place (6th in Division II, Group A) Relegated to Division II, Group B 2017 – 35th place (1st in Division II, Group B) Promoted to Division II, Group A 2018 – 32nd place (4th in Division II, Group A) 2019 – 33rd place (5th in Division II, Group A) 2020 – Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2021 – Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2022 – 27th place (1st in Division II, Group A) Promoted to Division I, Group B 2023 – 25th place (3rd in Division I, Group B) 2024 – 26th place (4th in Division I, Group B) 2025 – 26th place (4th in Division I, Group B) 2026 – 24th place (2nd in Division I, Group B)
Asian Winter Games YearHostResultMWDLGFGAGD 1986 1 - - - - - - - 1990 1 - - - - - - - 1996 3 - - - - - - - 1999 3 - - - - - - - 2003 3 - - - - - - - 2007 4 - - - - - - - 2011 4 - - - - - - - 2017 4 - - - - - - - 2025 4 8 3 0 5 30 24 +6Total - 9/9 40 19 4 20 222 215 +7 Key: OT = W / SO = D / Excluded Goals in SO
Asia Championship 2025 – 4th 2026 – 4th
Head-to-head record As of 14 February 2025 Teams named in italics are no longer active.
Team GP W T L GF GA 9 4 1 4 49 23 8 0 1 7 20 66 8 5 0 3 52 29 22 15 2 5 106 69 2 0 0 2 2 12 3 3 0 0 26 3 9 5 0 4 30 31 16 6 2 8 52 87 6 0 0 6 22 54 10 3 0 7 28 73 11 3 2 6 41 67 1 0 0 1 2 3 8 3 0 5 30 62 19 6 3 10 55 85 8 4 0 4 26 33 1 1 0 0 5 0 9 8 0 1 58 24 13 1 1 11 26 73 36 3 3 30 77 246 14 0 0 14 9 153 2 2 0 0 46 1 1 0 0 1 0 22 5 2 1 2 22 17 1 1 0 0 19 3 1 1 0 0 26 0 7 5 0 2 27 22 21 4 0 17 50 151 9 4 0 5 35 33 18 14 1 3 112 47 11 1 1 9 20 93 6 0 0 6 11 79 24 3 2 19 69 137 9 4 0 5 35 29 3 0 0 3 4 28 3 3 0 0 17 5 24 15 2 7 129 71 12 8 0 4 59 40 5 0 1 4 12 54 2 2 0 0 32 2 3 2 0 1 14 10 5 1 0 4 8 36 1 0 0 1 0 8 6 1 2 3 20 31 Total 390 143 25 224 1 483 2 112
See also China women's national ice hockey team Ice hockey in China Chinese Ice Hockey Championship Beijing International Ice Hockey League Asia League Ice Hockey Supreme Hockey League Kontinental Hockey League
References
External links
IIHF profile National Teams of Ice Hockey