Sinks of methane (CH4) become highly variable due to both human activity and climate change. An urgent need therefore exists to budget key sinks of CH4, such as forests and grasslands. In this study, CH4 uptake of forests and grasslands in China was first reviewed and then estimated based upon the review itself. Total uptake from the two CH4 sinks were 1.323TgCH4yr-1 in China (ranging from 0.567 to 2.078TgCH4yr-1), lower than a previous estimate in China (2.56TgCH4yr-1). Among the uptake, 0.650TgCH4yr-1 (ranging from 0.168 to 1.132TgCH4yr-1) was consumed by grasslands and 0.675TgCH4yr-1 (ranging from 0.399 to 0.946TgCH4yr-1) by forests. The largest CH4 uptake of grasslands was found in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau High-Frigid Domain, which consumed 0.284TgCH4yr-1, about 44% of the whole uptake of grasslands in China. The greatest CH4 uptake (0.553TgCH4yr-1) of forests took place in Eastern Humid and Semi-humid Domain of the country, which was about 82% of the total annual CH4 uptake of forests in China. With forests and grasslands taken together, Eastern Humid and Semi-humid Domain was the largest CH4 consumer, taking up about 0.715TgCH4yr-1, accounting for 82% of the whole forest uptake and 25% of the whole grassland uptake in China. On the ecoregion scale, due to extensive forest distribution and longer growing season, Southern Asia monsoon broadleaf forest ecoregion was the greatest CH4 uptake (0.320TgCH4yr-1) of forests and grasslands in China, consuming more CH4 than the Northeastern Arid and Semi-arid Domain combined. Our results indicated that forests and grasslands are not constant sinks of CH4 but decreasing ones influenced by climate change and anthropogenic activity. More field data, mechanism understanding and process-based models could help better estimate and understand CH4 uptakes of forests and grasslands in China. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd.