Objective To provide scientific evidence for the establishment of medical specialist system in China by analyzing the current situation and problems, putting forward solution thoughts and countermeasures, from the angle of medical education system, residency training program and licensed physician management. Method Principle and method of evidence-based medicine were adopted. Retrospective investigation was conducted to gain information from 1996 to 2002 about enrollment and running form of medical education, current situation of residency and specialist training. Data was then extracted and analyzed for the benefit of corresponding countermeasures. Results By the end of 2001, there were totally 1 640 thousand physicians in China. The enrollment proportion of undergraduate and junior college student steadily increased from 1996 to 2002, while the situation quite the reverse as for medical secondary school. More than 300 thousand have taken part in the licensure exam, among whom less than 15% had university diploma. About 52 000 doctors have already completed the residency training program, and 65 700 are being trained. Standardized system of specialist training and admittance is not available in China. Conclusions It was three main tough problems that mainly account for the poor quality of doctor as a whole in China, which include diversity of educational system, insufficient software and hardware of residency training program, and absence of specialist training system. An allied funded program of "research on medical specialist training and admittance" has been on the way, and research outcomes will be published soon.