Using the daily maximum and mean air surface temperature data of 121 stations in the area of southern China for the period 1961—2004,the change characteristics of the maximum temperature in the area was analyzed.The result is that severe heatwave with most frequent hot days occurred over southern China during summer 2003.Although there were increase trends for both the mean maximum temperature and mean temperature,it is not quite ture in the numbers of extreme hot days with daily maximum temperature above 35℃ in southern China during 1961—2004.The analysis of the probability of maximum temperature in South China during the summer of 2003 revealed that this event can't be considered as a reflection of long time trends,but rather than an episode under interannual variability.