Objective To study the distribution characteristics of virulence genes in Vibrio parahaemolyticus isolated from seafood in China. Methods Using polymerase chain reaction to detect the virulence genes tdh and trh, and to detect the species-specific genes tlh and toxR in 192 experiment strains. Results There was no strain carrying tdh gene, and 4 stains carrying trh gene, accounted for 2.08% of strains in 192 food isolates. The strains carrying tlh and toxR genes were 100%. Conclusion The rate of carrying virulence gene in Vibrio parahaemolyticus from seafood isolates was very low in China.