The terrestrial growth characteristics of China and their relationship with various climatic factors (e.g. temperature, precipitation and radiation) were investigated using the data collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). This data was collected during the period between 2000-2003 and then again in 2005, with the collections occurring once every 8 days. The average annual gross primary production (GPP) in China during this time period ranged from 0 to 3252.6gC•m^-2•a^-1, with an average value of 491.1gC•m^-2•a^-1 being recorded. The maximum observed values of the GPP were distributed over the regions of Yunnan, Hainan and the Taiwanese provinces and southeast coastal areas, while the minimum values were observed in the cold and arid regions of the Tibeten Plateau, Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia. Correlation analysis showed that temperature was the primary factor influencing this terrestrial growth, with precipitation playing a secondary role. However, only the terrestrial growth that occurred in southern China were affected by radiation. The correlation coefficients of the GPP with temperature and precipitation decreased from northern to southern China and were negatively related with the distribution of the associated climatic factors within China. Furthermore, the correlation coefficient of the GPP with cloud contents was observed to increase from northern to southern China.