Obiective To investigate the molecular characteristics of heteroresistant vancomycinintermediate Staphylococcus aureus(hVISA)in China and analyze the differences of the molecular characteristics between hVISA and VSSA(vancomycin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus)isolates.Methods A total of 3 15 non-repetitive MBSA were collected from the national surveillance program in China in 2007.The isolates of hVISA were confirmed by modified population analysis profile-area under the curve(PAP-AUC).The genotypes of agr and SCCmec were determined by multiplex PCR,and spa typing was performed bv PCR and DNA sequencing.The pvl gene was detected bv PCR Results The prevalence of hVISA was 9.5%(30/315).Among 315 MRSA,SCCmec Ⅲ was the most popular type,which was found in 234 isolates(234/315,74.3%),followed by SCCmec Ⅱ,which was identified in 56 isolates (56/315,17.8%).The rate of SCCmec Ⅱ in hVISA(46.7%)was significantly hisher than in VSSA (14.7%,X~2=18.93,P＜0.001).The most prevalent agr type among 315 MRSA was agr 1 accounting for 73.6%(232/315).The agr 2 accounted for 18.7%(59/315),and agr 3 and agr 4 were very rare in clinical isolates.It was different in agr types between the two groups.The rate of agr 2 in hVISA(53.4%)was higher than in VSSA(15.1%).X~2 value was 26.08 and P value was less than 0.001 through X~2 test.There was a statistical significance in the result.There were 4 spa types in hVISA isolates,including t002 (13 isolates),t037(9 isolates),t030(6 isolates),and 1548(2 isolates).The pvl positive MRSA isolates were very low,accounting for 1.6%(5/315).Conclusions The prevalence of hVISA was relatively higher in China.Compared to VSSA,the majority(53.4%)of the hVISA strains were agr 2,which was obviously different from VSSA.hVISA isolates were more diverse by spa typing,