ObjectivesTo systematically evaluate the structure, publication type and contents of current guidelines for guideline development, so as to provide methodology references for guideline development in China. MethodsSix biomedical research literature databases, six guideline databases and 18 websites of academic institutions and health administrative departments were searched to locate guidelines for guideline development. We included the latest versions of guidelines from guideline development departments or academic institutions. We extracted information consisting of general guideline information, structure, principles, methods and procedure of guideline development. A descriptive analysis was conducted to analyze the general information, structure, principles, methods and procedure of guidelines among different guidelines for guideline development. ResultsAmong all the included 25 guidelines for guideline development published from 1998 to 2014, 50% of them were from North America. Structure of these guidelines were similar while detail levels of recommended guideline development methods and procedures were slightly different. The guideline development groups, systematic literature search, evidence assessment and recommendation formulation were vital part of guideline development. The ineffective promotion and implementation of guidelines for guideline development were common problems of current guidelines. ConclusionsProcedures recommended by current guidelines for guideline development are almost the same, but the methods and statements are different. We could develop our own guideline for guideline development based on the current relative high-quality guideline in order to provide guidance to the clinical guideline development in China.