Continuous autumn rain is long in duration,meaning it can easily cause crop mold and other adverse effects relating to daily life and industrial and agricultural production.In order to mitigate such losses caused by continuous autumn rain,it is important to study in depth the climate characteristics of continuous autumn rain and its causes.The present study does this based on the daily rainfall and sunshine data of 753 meteorological stations in China in autumn (September-November) from 1961 to 2010,along with NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data for the period 1948-2010.After defining continuous autumn rain in China,its climate characteristics for different levels (5-7 d,8-10 d,and 11 d and above) are analyzed.Based on a general survey of regions where continuous autumn rain was found to happen often during 1961-2010,China is divided into four regions of continuous autumn rain;namely,North China,Southwest China,the Changjiang-Huaihe basin,and South China,where representative stations are Xingtai (Hebei Province),Wufeng (Hubei Province),Gushi (Henan Province) and Yongan (Fujian Province),respectively.The circulation characteristics of continuous autumn rain and continuous autumn rain of different levels in North China are also analyzed.The results show that: (1)The accumulated frequency of continuous autumn rain and continuous autumn rain of different levels mainly concentrates in the mid-upper reaches of the Yangtze River during 1961-2010,and is very small in the areas north to the Yellow River.With an increase in the level of rain,the high-frequency areas move from southeast to southwest.The frequency standard deviation is similar to the frequency of continuous autumn rain and continuous autumn rain of different levels. (2)During the continuous autumn rain and continuous autumn rain of different levels in North China,in the 500 hPa geopotential height field,the northern cold air is guided to the south by northerly flow after the East Asian trough,and southern warm air is guided to the north by southerly flow on the west side of the subtropical high.The cold and warm air masses meet over North China,which is beneficial to the formation of the continuous rain weather.Positive height anomalies are located over North China,but negative height anomalies are located in the east and west sides of North China. (3)The circulation patterns feature a number of differences among the different levels of continuous autumn rain.The East Asian trough and Urals ridge are the strongest and located farthest east for the 8-10 d level,followed by the 11 d and above level,and finally the 5-7 d level.The trough is most obvious over Lake Balkhash for the 8-10 d level. (4)In the 850-hPa wind field,the enhanced southern and northern air streams meet over North China,as do the anomalous southerlies and northerlies.However,the wind field features differ among the different levels of continuous autumn rain:with an increase in the level of continuous rain,the wind speed converging over North China increases. (5)In the sea level pressure field,the blocking high between Lake Balkhash and Lake Baikal strengthens,and North China is located in the peripheral region of the blocking high.Positive sea level pressure anomalies are located over North China.However,among the different levels of continuous autumn rain,the blocking high strength shows some differences,as does the extent of the enhancement of the blocking high,which is maximum for the 11 d and above level,followed by the 5-7 d level,and is minimum for the 8-10 d level.