Abstract: Objective To determine the clinical features of childhood vitiligo in Han nationality. Methods A standardized questionnaire was used to clinically investigate 396 cases of vitiligo in patients aged less than 12 years; 825 adult patients with vitiligo served as controls. Data analysis was done by SPSS 10.0. Results In child patients with vitiligo, 46.2% were males, and 53.8% females; there was no statistically significant difference in gender ratio between the childhood and adult groups（P < 0.05）. The incidence of segmental vitiligo was 33.3% in children, significantly higher than that in adult patients（13.5%）. On the contrary, the incidence of generalized vitiligo was significantly lower in children than in adult patients （4.3% vs 11.6%）. A family history of vitiligo was observed in 12.4% of children, and in 12.7% of adults, without significant difference between the two groups. For both childhood and adult vitiligo patients, the incidence of vitiligo was significantly higher in first-degree relatives than in second-degree relatives. The most common precipitating factor of childhood vitiligo was trauma. The incidence of halo nevi was higher in patients with childhood vitiligo compared to patients with adult vitiligo, while thyroid disease was seen more frequently in adult patients. Conclusion There are some differences in clinical characteristics of vitiligo between children and adults.