Abstract: The subject of the rsearch is the studies of Central Asia in China. The author of the research focuses on the history, origin and deveopment of Chinese centers for Central Asia studies. The author lists the leading research centers and their academic journals and analyze the main areas of Central Asian research at the modern state. The rationale of the research is caused by the all-sided reinforcement of relations between the People's Republic of China and Central Asian states and thus, the need to clarify how China interprets the history of Central Asian states and understands their role in modern international relations, what diplomatic policy China has been following in relation to Central Asian countries, etc. The research is based on the analysis of original Chinese publications on Central Asian countries. At the end of the research the author concludes that Central Asian studies have a long history in China, however, officially they have been created only recently and the 1990s was marked with a new stage of these studies.