This Special Paper is primarily intended for conodont specialists, but will also be of interest to Silurian biostratigraphers and anyone working on the Silurian rocks of China.  New conodont collections are described from a number of sections in area of the Yangtze Platform, South China, and existing literature on Silurian conodonts from China is re-evaluated and integrated with the new information.  Several new taxa are recognised and the taxonomy of several early Silurian conodont species is refined.  The status of Silurian conodont biozonation in China is reviewed, and Chinese sections are correlated with sections elsewhere. The palaeoecological and palaeobiogeographical significance of the Chinese conodonts is also discussed.