Objective To know the relationship between air quality and meteorological conditions in Sanming City,Fujian, China.Methods Based on the fixed point monitoring data of everyday air quality from Sanming Environmental Monitoring Center and the corresponding upper air synoptic chart from 2002 to 2006,the spatial and temporal distribution characteristics,the variation tendency of the ambient air quality and their relations with the meteorological conditions were analyzed by using Excel 2003 software.Results The air pollution in Sanming was serious,the PM10 was concluded as the predominant pollutant.The concentration of SO_2,NO_2 and PM10,which affected the air quality of Sanming,was higher during October—April,and it was lower during May—September.The concentration of the pollutants was higher in the urban areas eompared with the suburbs. Conclusion The air quality in Sanming is related to the variation of the synoptic system.The air quality under the warm shear line system is best and under low system is next-best;the air quality under the warm sector convergence system is worst and under continent high system is next-worst;the low-level wind direction has some effect on the variation of the air quality,the air quality in easterly wind is better than that in westerly wind.