ObjectiveTo interpret and compare the epidemiologic data of gastric cancer incidence and mortality in the world and China during 2018–2022, and to evaluate the disease burden of gastric cancer in China. MethodBased on the GLOBOCAN 2018–2022 cancer registry data released by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), both the crude and the age-standardized incidence and mortality data of gastric cancer were retrieved, while the situation of gastric cancer incidence and mortality was compared between China and the world. ResultsComparing with the global incidence and mortality of gastric cancer, although the incidence and mortality of gastric cancer in China showed a consistently declining trend, the numbers of incident cases and deaths kept the greatest in the world, which was one of the important cancer disease burdens in China. In the 2022 report, there were 968 350 incident cases and 660 175 deaths from gastric cancer worldwide. Therein, China had the greatest number of incident cases and deaths from gastric cancer, i.e. 358 000 (37.0% of the global total) and 260 000 (39.5% of the global total), respectively. The age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR) and age-standardized mortality rate (ASMR) for gastric cancer worldwide were 9.2/100 000 and 6.1/100 000, respectively; in China, the ASIR and ASMR were 13.7/100 000 and 9.4/100 000, respectively, both of which were higher than the global average levels. Similarly, in terms of the assessment on population morbidity index (PMI), the risk of death from gastric cancer in China appeared a declining trend, but it was still at a higher level compared to the global average. In very high and high human development index (HDI) countries/regions, the ASIR and ASMR of gastric cancer were higher than those in medium and low HDI countries/regions, while the trend was similar when stratified by gross national income (GNI) per capita. In countries/regions with very high HDI or high GNI per capita, the PMI was lower than those in other stratified countries/regions. There were certain geographic disparities in the ASMR of gastric cancer in China. The western region, especially the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau region, had the heaviest burden of gastric cancer deaths, and a few provinces in the central and eastern regions also faced a heavy burden of gastric cancer deaths. Similar to the global situation, the incidence and death risk of gastric cancer were higher among males in China. The ASIR and ASMR in males were more than two times to those in females, while the PMI in males and females were comparable. Globally, subpopulation ≥50 years old entered the age-groups with high incidence of gastric cancer, while in China, the high incidence age-groups were since 45 years old. ConclusionsThe burden of gastric cancer is still heavy in China and higher than the global level. HDI, GNI per capita, regional distribution, gender, and age are associated with the incidence and death risks of gastric cancer. The key points of gastric cancer prevention and control in China should be focused on raising awareness of cancer prevention among the public population, establishing tertiary prevention system in subnational areas, supporting large-scale population screening projects, systematically surveilling the high-risk subpopulation, promoting standardized cancer diagnosis and treatment, and whole-life managing and caring cancer patients.