Abstract: Using the Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) scanner, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data，FuLiou radiative transfer model and Spectral RadiationTransport Model for Aerosol Species (SPRINTARS), we provide estimates of shortwave aerosol direct radiative forcing (SWARF) at the top of atmosphere (TOA) over the China Sea. The results show that (1) the shortwave radiation fluxes at TOA from CERES have a good linear correlativity with the aerosol optical thickness (AOT) at 550 nm from MODIS in Terra over the China Sea. Their correlation coefficient can reach 0.9, suggesting that aerosol has a remarkable effect on shortwave radiation fluxes at the TOA and, aerosol direct radiative forcing at TOA is very important over the China Sea; (2) based on the linear correlativity, instantaneous aerosol direct shortwave radiative forcing (Fs) over the China Sea can be directly computed by combination of CERES radiation flux data with MODIS aerosol products. The time variation and spatial distribution of Fs over the China Sea are presented. In time, seasonal change is very obvious. Fs gets its maximum in spring and its minimum in summer with its intermediate values occurred in fall and in winter. In space, the spatial distribution of Fs represents a regional feature. Fs is larger in shore and smaller in remote oceanic areas. Its isolines parallel the coast and it decreases with the increasing distance from the coast, implying that aerosol over the China Sea is from continental aerosol source. Meanwhile, in value, a negative linear correlation is found between Fs and AOT550 at the all seasons, which suggests that aerosol reduces the incoming solar radiation at the TOA, and thus aerosol direct forcing is a cooling effect opposite to greenhouse effect. In this paper, Fs from satellite data is converted to the daily averaged SWARF (Fd) by the scaling factor which is computed based on the FuLiou radiative transfer model. The Fddistribution over the China Sea is then presented. Finally, the Fd from satellites is compared to the result simulated by the SPRINTARS aerosol model. It is found that there is a good agreement between the simulated and satellite results.