The data were collected in November 1995 from 359 fathers and 660 mothers of children age 16 or younger. The occurrence of child abuse was assessed through the Chinese version of the Conflict Tactics Scale. The research defined minor violence as including throwing something at the child; pushing, grabbing, or shoving the child; and slapping or spanking. Severe violence included kicking, biting, or hitting with a fist; hitting or trying to hit with an object; beating up; threatening with a gun, knife, or other weapon; and using a gun, knife, or other weapon. Participants were asked whether and how often they had performed these specific acts against their child during the past year. The base rate of physical child abuse was 526 per 1,000 children for minor violence and 461 per 1,000 children for severe violence. Minor violence was most often directed at children ages 3-6 years or children without siblings in the family. The perpetrators tended to be mothers, parents ages 19-37 years, mothers who were housewives, or fathers who were unemployed. The highest rate of severe violence occurred against boys or children ages 3-6 years and tended to be committed by mothers, parents ages 19-37 years, and housewives or unemployed fathers. Findings indicated that Chinese families had slightly lower rates of minor violence but higher rates of severe violence toward children than did American families. Findings also suggested that it cannot be assumed that results based on local official statistics and clinical samples regarding the extent of child abuse and characteristics of victims and abusers can be accurately extended to community samples. Tables and 29 references (Author abstract modified)