Objective: To understand the life expectancy (LE) and health life expectancy (HALE) of Chinese during 1990-2015. Methods: Using the results of global burden of disease study 2015 (GBD 2015), we compared the Chinese LE and HALE in 2015 with those of other countries and analyzed the differences between LE and HALE in Chinese and the changes of LE and HALE during 1990-2015 at both national level and provincial level. Results: In 2015, the LE and the HALE of Chinese were 76.2 and 68.0 years, 4.4 and 5.2 years higher than the global averages, respectively. The LE and HALE were higher in women than in men. The high LE and HALE were observed in developed provinces or areas, such as Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Macau, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Tianjin and Guangdong, while the low LE and HALE were found in underdeveloped provinces, such as Tibet, Qinghai, Guizhou, Xinjiang and Yunnan. Between 1990 and 2015, the LE and HALE of Chinese increased substantially by 9.5 and 8.4 years, respectively. The increase of LE was greater than that of HALE at both national level and provincial level. Conclusion: LE and HALE of Chinese increased substantially from 1990 to 2015, but the differences among provinces were obvious.