Abstract: In order to clarify the species and fauna characteristics of butterflies in Xichou County, the butterflies were collected by route survey and net catching from September 2016 to October 2017. The results showed that 152 species of butterflies were found in Xichou County during the investigation, belonging to 5 families and 86 genera. Most of them were from the family Nymphalidae, identified as 37 genera, 73species; followed by the species of Lycaenidae, with 18 genera and 24 species; and the third was Pieridae, 15 genera and 23 species. In fauna of world, most species markedly presented the characters of Oriental realm and at the same time with a great of Palaearctic realm and some other floristic elements. Among these butterflies, 43 species were of Palaearctic component, accounting for 28.29%. In fauna of China, 151 species were of Southwest-China component, accounting for 99.34%; followed by South-China and Central-China components, with 143 species and 122 species, accounting for 94.08% and 80.26%, respectively. Among them, 66 species were common elements of the 3 regions, accounting for 43.42%. It was indicated that the butterflies in Xichou County were characterized by Oriental component, with large Palaearctic realm elements. And there were various common elements in the Southwest-China, South-China and Central-China, which might be explained by its geographical location, special topographic features and vegetation distribution.