Objective Previous studies showed that the superior temporal gyrus and sulcus (STG/STS) plays an important role in auditory speech processing.In this study, we investigated whether the activation of the STG/STS could be modulated by short term auditory word learning.Methods We recorded blood oxygenation responses, using functional magnetic resonance imaging, to frequency-modulated tones, Cantonese words, mandarin Chinese words, and trilled and reversely played Chinese words.Participants were then required to learn a set of Cantonese words during scanning.Activations for the learned Cantonese words and unlearned control words were compared.Results Activation was most robust in the STG/STS for mandarin Chinese when comparing to other stimuli.After the short training session, the participants could understand most of the presented Cantonese words.Significant stronger BOLD signal change was observed for learned Cantonese words than for unlearned control condition in the STG/STS.Conclusion Our results suggest that the STG/STS may be crucial for short term auditory word learning.