Objectives To investigate the current status of single raw material health foods registration in China. Methods The registration of 419 single raw material health foods from the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) in the period of 2003-2007 were studied and analyzed, including the registration number, function claims, material categories and active ingredients, etc. Results The number of single raw material health foods accounted for 13.1% of total registered functional foods in this period. Half of the function claims were enhancing immune function. The active ingredients were nonspecific. The most common ingredients were polysaccharide, total saponins and total flavonoid. The chief categories of component were traditional Chinese material, foodstuff, edible fungi and algae. Conclusions The use of extracted materials might bring potential quality and safety issues because of no unified standards and processing technique. It is necessary to standardize management for extracted materials urgently. Take the single raw material products as a trial to seek a simplified mode for the registration and management of health foods.