Plant leaves are the core of energy and material flow in forests, and herbivorous insects affect plant growth, reproduction, and community structure by feeding on plant leaves. The phytophagous effect of herbivorous insects on plant leaves plays an important role in the study of biological interactions, and it is of high ecological significance to understand the regional variation law and regulatory factors of phytophagous insects. Ecologists have long been committed to revealing the geographical pattern of phytophagous insects to analyze the environmental drivers shaping this pattern, however, the pattern of phytophagous on leaves and its regulatory factors are still unclear about the phytophagous pattern of typical forest herbivorous insects in China. Therefore, in this study, 98 species of trees from 16 forest stations in Hainan, Guangdong, Jiangxi, and other provinces were taken as the research objects, and the experimental method of combining field investigation and in-lab statistical analysis was used to study the feeding of leaves by herbivorous insects, and the regional pattern of leaf herbivory rate and its environmental determinants were quantified. The results showed that the average herbivory rate of 29,834 leaves of 98 species of plants in 36 genera was 3.82%. Specifically, the herbivory rate was the highest in the Jianfengling area of Hainan Province and the lowest in the Hu Zhong area of Heilongjiang Province, which were 7.77% and 1.09%, respectively. In addition, there were no significant effects on phylogeny, leaf total carbon, total nitrogen, carbon-nitrogen ratio and leaf weight on leaf phytophancy. In contrast, the annual mean temperature, annual precipitation, annual temperature range, minimum temperature in the coldest month, maximum temperature in the warmest month, seasonal variation of temperature, seasonal variation of precipitation and precipitation in the coldest quarter largely determined the phytophagous effect of herbivorous insects on leaves in China (P<0.05).This study shows that the herbivory rate of forest leaves at different latitudes in China is largely determined by climatic factors, which provides a quantitative basis for revealing the pattern of herbivory rate and its driving factors in China, and also provides an important theoretical basis for further research on the potential impact of global climate change on ecosystem functions, especially the interaction between plants and insects. The results of this study not only deepen our understanding of the role of herbivorous insects in forest ecosystems, but also provide a scientific basis for insect regulation strategies in forest protection, ecological restoration and biodiversity conservation, which is helpful to promote the sustainable management and protection of forest ecosystems.