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In many western societies, despite the continuing dominance of biomedicine, alternative healing options, including Chinese medicine, have started to move from margin to mainstream. In China, Chinese medicine has been an established component in the official health care system, but at the same time, its relevance and effectiveness have often been challenged in a society committed to modernization. In recent decades, as China experienced rapid modernization, the situation of the Chinese medicine in China has possibly become more precarious. Very little research has established empirical facts regarding the utilization of Chinese medicine in China. This paper uses a longitudinal dataset to examine the trends of the utilization of Chinese medicine from 1991 to 2004, ascertain the factors correlated with the utilization, and explore the factors that contributed to the trends. It finds that contrary to the trends in the West, In China, Western medicine has gained grounds at the expense of Chinese medicine, particularly in Chinese cities. The use of Chinese medicine is associated with older age, lower socioeconomic status and worse health status. Moreover although changes in sample characteristics have contributed to the changes in the utilization of Chinese medicine, they cannot account for all of the declining trends from 1991 to 2004. The status of Chinese medicine is inferred from these findings and additional factors that might contribute to the declining trends are discussed. This paper suggests that the influence of Chinese medicine is probably declining in contemporary China and this trend may continue. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]