This article presents the results of preliminary quantitative analyses of meiobenthic copepod and kinorhynch assemblages sampled during August and November, 1981 cruises of the China-US Joint Study of Marine Sedimentation Processes in the Changjiang Estuary and adjacen waters. The results show that the density of each group is simi1ar to reported values from equivalent water depths worldwide. Copepods averaged 75.2 and kinorhynchs 26.3 per 10 cm2 over all East China Sea collections. The distribution of these two groups of meiofauna is closely related to the hydrodynamic corditions and sedimentary characteristics in the region. The species diversity (H’) and evenness (J’) in deeper continental shelf waters east of 124°E are higher, their mean values being 2.5 and 0.9 respectively, and the number of species here is also high with an average of 15.9 species per core. In the shallow water area of the Changjiang Delta, the diversity, evenness and number of species are lower, being 1.8, 0.8 and 9.3 respectively. Members of a shallow water species group occur almost exclusively in the Changjiang Delta，area，while those of deeper water species groups are mostly distributed in the continental shelf area east of 124°E and occasionally are found at deltaic sites. Members of a cosmopolitan species group are found throughout the region investigated.