Abstract: Interdecadal changes of the relationship between tropical Indian Ocean dipole(IOD) and the interannual variability of summer climate in China are investigated by using the technique of sliding correlation analysis with the monthly tropical Pacific SSTA and the monthly surface air temperature and precipitation of the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data and the station-observed data in China during 1957-2005. The results indicate that the relation between IOP and summer climate anomaly in China on one hand showed a stable robust aspect, and on the other hand interdecadal changes. The stable relation manifested mainly in the significant negative correlation between IOD and summer precipitation in the Changjiang-Huaihe River valley, the distinctive positive correlation between IOP and summer air temperature in Sichuan, and the remarkable positive correlation between IOD and next summer precipitation in Sichuan. Accompanied with the interdecadal shift of the large-scale general circulation pattern in the late 1970s, the association of IOD and interannual variability of summer climate in other regions in China also changed. From the pre-shift to the post-shift epoch, during the development phase of positive IOD, the summer precipitation anomaly pattern in China changed from below normal in most of China to above (below) normal in areas south (north) of Changjiang River, and the summer surface air temperature anomaly pattern changed from warming in the east of Southwest China to cooling (warming) in areas south (north) of Changjiang River; and in the next summer of positive IOD, the precipitation anomaly pattern in China changed from above normal in most of China to below (above) normal in areas south (north) of Changjiang River, and the temperature anomaly pattern from no significant correlation in most of China to significant warming in most areas south of Huanghe River. Based on the composite analysis of the NCAR/NCEP reanalysis dataset, significant different IOD-related atmospheric circulation anomalies in East Asia over the pre-shift and post-shift epoch may be responsible for the interdecadal change of relationships between IOD and summer surface air temperature and precipitation in China. During the development phase of positive IOD, before the late 1970s, the Indian summer monsoon and South China Sea summer monsoon were stronger and the subtropical high was weaker than normal, which led to less precipitation in most of South China but more precipitation in western North China and middle Inner Mongolia; after the late 1970s, easterlies were weaker over middle East Asian, which resulted in less precipitation and higher temperature in northern Xinjiang and excessive precipitation in South China. During the summer in the next year of positive IOD, before the late 1970s, southerlies prevailed over South China, Hetao and Sichuan, bring about more precipitation, and after that time, South Asian high and northwestern Pacific subtropical high were stronger and extended westwards, which caused deficit precipitation in South China and Jiangnan.