Background and Purpose: Stroke is the leading cause of death in China.Eight main risk factors were identified following the introduction of a screening project for people at high risk of stroke in 2009.We performed this study to gain insight into the strength of association of these eight risk factors with the risk of stroke.Methods: Relevant databases were searched for case-control and cohort studies focusing on the risk factors of stroke.We systematically identified studies conducted between 1990 and 2015 that included data on the frequency of risk factors in Chinese Han populations.Pooled relative risks (RRs) and odds ratios (ORs), with their 95% confidence intervals (95%Cis), were calculated for the cohort and case-control studies, respectively.The quality of the studies was evaluated using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS).Results: Six cohort studies and 177 case-control studies were identified.Hypertension was the strongest independent risk factor for stroke (pooled OR 3.50, 95%CI 3.18-3.85;pooled RR 3.18, 95%CI 2.64-3.84).Diabetes mellitus, heart disease, family history of stroke, hyperlipidemia, overweight, and smoking were also mildly predictive (pooled ORs 1.82-2.54 and pooled RRs 1.54-2.47).By contrast, physical exercise was a protective factor against stroke (pooled OR 0.49, 95%CI 0.29-0.83).Conclusions: There was a measurable difference in the strength of association of the eight risk factors with stroke:hypertension and diabetes were associated with the highest risks, indicating a need to focus resources on patients with these conditions.Giving risk factors equal weighting may not be an appropriate screening methodology in high-risk populations.