Abstract: Based on the major flood disaster events of China railway during 1951-1998, the frequency, disastrous degrees, spatiotemporal distribution and their dynamic characteristics were analyzed. The results show that on the average over the period of 1951-1998, there were 3.1 major flood disaster events and 63 days of traffic interruption each year in China railway. 1954, 1960, 1981, 1991 and 1996 were the peak times of major flood disaster events of China railway. The flood disasters mainly took place from May to August, and the most of them occurred in July yet the most traffic interruption days were in August. With regard to the regional distribution of major flood disaster events, most of them occurred in Northeast China, Northwest China, East China and South China. The Lanxin line had the most flood events, followed by the Jingguang line and Longhai line, and the Huainan line was the severest disastrous line in China. Causes for major flood disasters of China railway in different areas were also discussed.