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Purpose To describe total fluid intake (TFI) and types of fluid consumed in urban China by age, gender, regions and city socioeconomic status relative to the adequate intakes (AI) set by the Chinese Nutrition Society. Methods In 2016, participants aged 4–9, 10–17 and 18–55 years were recruited via a door-to-door approach in 27 cities in China. In total, 2233 participants were included. The volumes and sources of TFI were collected using the Liq.In7 record, assisted by a photographic booklet of standard fluid containers. Results The mean daily TFI among children, adolescents and adults were 966, 1177 and 1387 mL, respectively. In each age group, TFI was significantly higher in male vs female (981 vs 949, 1240 vs 1113, 1442 vs 1332; mL). Approximately 45, 36 and 28% of children, adolescents and adults reached the AI. Although plain water was the highest contributor to TFI, the contribution of sugar sweetened beverages (SSB) was ranked in the top three together with water and milk and derivatives. Approximately 27, 48 and 47% of children, adolescents and adults consumed more than one serving of SSB per day, respectively. Conclusions A relatively large proportion of participants did not drink enough to meet the AI in urban China. Many children, adolescents and adults consumed more than one serving of SSB per day. A majority of children, adolescents and adults in the study population do not meet both quantitative and qualitative fluid intake requirements, and signal socioeconomic disparities. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s00394-018-1755-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.