Abstract: A total of 534 larvae of Anguilla japonica were collected from 9 estuaries in Guangdong, Fujian, Zhenjiang, Shanghai and Jiangsu Province, China, during Jan. -Mar. of 2008.Their pigmentation stages were determined according to the distribution of pigments on the body surface. The age of leptocephali at metamorphosis(Tm), time between metamorphosis to arrival at the estuaries (Tt-m), and age of glass eels (Tt) arriving at the 9 sites were counted according to the number of daily growth increments in the sagitta. The mean Tm was 102 d (90 d to 112 d) and progressively increased from south to north. The homogeneity tests for Tt, Tm and Tt-m among nine estuaries were conducted by Scheffe’s multiple comparison method. According to sampling location and Tm value, leptocephali were divided into three homgeneous groups. Group I was located in two southern sampling sites (Xinhui and Shantou) and had the lowest Tm. In contrast, group III in the 3 northern sampling sites (Jiuduansha, Cixi, Dafeng) had the highest Tm. Group II were in the four mid-sites (Fuqing, Ningde, Wenzhou, Taizhou). Similar result was acquired by R-cluster dendrogram of nine sampling sites and Q-cluster dendrogram of every sample based on Tm. These results indicated that the leptocephalus might migrate in three populations along the North Equatorial Current from their spawning ground to the northeastern continental shelf waters of Philippines, to Kuroshi Current and then to the estuaries of China for metamorphose. The fast-growing leptocephali metamorphosed earlier, and migrated to the southern estuaries and then entered into Guangdong coastal rivers, while the slow-growing ones metamorphosed later and migrated to the Changjiang estuary and the northern estuaries of the range. The remaining leptocephali migrated to the middle coastal waters of East China Sea. The difference of metamorphosis age between south leptocephali (91.87?1.36 d) and north (106.00?3.22 d) was 14.13 d. If the leptocephali were drifted by the Kuroshio Current at a velocity of 96 km day-1, the dispersal distance of the leptocephali for 14.03 d would be 1350 km, approximately equal to the distance between Xinhui and Dafeng. These results suggest that glass eel of Chinese estuaries was passively transported by the Kuroshi Current from the south to north at their leptocephali stage.