OBJECTIVE: To explore the relationship between C-reactive protein (CRP) and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in a rural Chinese population. DESIGN AND METHODS: We performed a population-based cross-sectional study. RESULTS: The median CRP was 0.90 mg/L. After exclusion of subjects with a CRP value >10 mg/L, The median CRP with 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 components of MetS were 0.61, 0.61, 0.73, 1.07, 1.51, and 1.16 mg/L (P=0.029 for linear trend) in men, and were 0.37, 0.45, 0.62, 1.10, 1.52, and 2.17 mg/L (P=0.002 for linear trend) in women, respectively. After adjustment for potential confounders, compared with those without components of MetS, those with 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 components of MetS had ORs of 1.39, 1.08, 1.84, 2.65, and 1.21 for elevated CRP in men and 1.91, 2.06, 3.10, 4.06, and 6.01 in women, respectively. CONCLUSION: In this rural Chinese population, the CRP concentration was lower than that of Caucasians and strongly related to the MetS, especially in women.