Objective:To investigate the correlation between metabolic syndrome(MS) and insulin resistance in Chinese,discuss the applicability of ATPⅢ criteria and IDF criteria for MS in Chinese people. Methods:Given 75 g oral glucose tolerance challenge,110 Chinese were divided into normal glucose tolerance(NGT) group, impaired glucose tolerance(IGT) group and type 2 diabetes (DM) group according to 1999 WHO criteria. Homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) was applied to assess the status of insulin resistance(HOMA-IR) and basic function of pancreatic -茁 cell(HOMA--茁 cell). Results:In subgroups with and without MS according to the ATPⅢ criteria, no significant difference was found in HOMA-IR(1.50 ± 1.84,2.15 ± 2.50,P = 0.13) and HOMA--茁 cell(0.90 ± 0.56,0.96 ± 0.94,P = 0.68). However,in subgroups according to IDF criteria,significant difference was found in HOMA-IR(1.25 ± 0.83,2.22 ± 2.81,P = 0.01). Conclusion:There was no distinct insulin resistance in the metabolic syndrome group defined by the 2001 ATPⅢ criteria. The ATPⅢ criteria for MS was not coherent with the 1999 WHO criteria. The ATPⅢ criteria for MS might not have enough applicability in Chinese patients, while the IDF criteria might be more applicable in Chinese people.