ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To analyze the motor performance status in students of Han nationality in fifteen provinces in china.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Totally, 161 804 students of Han nationality aged from 7 to 18 years old were involved in the Chinese Surveillance on Students' Physical Fitness and Health in 2004. Motor abilities were accessed with the aid of gripping power, 50 m dash, standing long jump, and 1-min sit-ups. Based on general statistical description, principal component analysis and linear regression, the development characters of students' motor performance were explored.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>This research showed some characters similar to those of last ones: motor capability was improved in correlation with age; boys did better than girls, the difference between 18 year-old rural boys and rural girls was 15.3 kg, -2.0 s, 58.6 cm, 8.7/min; the urban students performed better than the rural ones, the difference between 15 year-old urban boys and rural boys was 0.9 kg, -0.2 s, 3.5 cm, 3.5/min. The first principal component might represent the 4 tests greatly. Regression analysis on principal component quantitatively interpreted the influence of factors such as age, sex and area.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The general principles of exercise quality development of students are still in work. Principal component analysis should be adequate and convenient in motor performance analysis.</p>