Abstract: AIM To observe the distribution characteristics of white-coat hypertension (WCH) and masked hypertension (MH). METHODS Three hundred suspected hypertensive patients in our hospital from January 2011 to June 2014 were divided into WCH group, MH group and sustained hypertension (SH) group according to results of clinical blood pressure measurement and 24-h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. The constituent ratio and the characteristics of systolic hypertension, diastolic hypertension and systolic-diastolic hypertension were compared among the three groups. RESULTS The ratio in WCH group (16.0%) was similar to that in the MH group (12.3%). The ratio in the SH group was much higher (71.7%). In the WCH group, the ratios of female patients, young patients and isolated systolic hypertension (ISH) were higher. Age and body mass index in MH group were higher. CONCLUSION The ratio of WCH is close to that of MH, which is about one seventh. Each type of hypertension has certain distribution characteristics.