Accurate precipitation data are important for climate and environmental research in the dryland of Central Asia.Although multiple gridded datasets developed with various (spatial-interpolation, climate reanalysis, or remote sensing) methods are available, their accuracy and suitability for this arid and semiarid region, which locates in the center of Eurasia inland and is characterized with complex topography,are still unclear.In this study, a spatially-interpolated dataset developed by the Willmott, C.J.and K.Matsuura (WM), a satellite-retrieved dataset developed by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM 3B42) project, and three climate reanalysis datasets, including the Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR), ERA-Interim, and Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis (MERRA), were evaluated against gauge observations from 399 meteorological stations in Central Asia.Both temporal and spatial patterns were investigated.