Aim The prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in children has been on the rise in China and more and more paediatric patients are now relying on chronic renal replacement therapies to sustain their lives. However, there is still a lack of literature in China about their outcomes, thus making it difficult, if not impossible for the paediatric nephrology community to develop strategies to guide future developments and to better serve this group of sick children. Methods Our institution has recently conducted a nation-wide survey to obtain data of children with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) between the years 2007 to 2012. Questionnaires were distributed to 39 member hospitals of the Chinese Paediatric Nephrology Association. Only 28 of our member hospitals were actively providing dialysis services to children and their responses were included in this study. Results There were a total of 1033 children with ESRD and within this cohort, 474 patients (45.9%) received chronic dialysis and 380 patients (80.2%) preferred haemodialysis. Conclusion Haemodialysis is far more commonly used than peritoneal dialysis in China and the outcomes were similar to the experiences in North America. The data we gained through this survey provides the foundation for future planning and development of the paediatric dialysis services in China.