Clinical characteristics of SLE patients vary by ethnicity in the study The China Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) Patient Treatment Study Group (CSTAR) is a multi-study center, consecutive, prospective study. Study data were provided online by 104 rheumatology research centers nationwide, covering 30 provinces in China. To be enrolled, patients must meet four or more of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) SLE classification criteria. All CSTAR centers applied the same protocol methodology to provide consistent patient assessment, including demographic information, clinical characteristics, laboratory tests, and disease activity assessment. Patient DNA and serum samples were also collected for further study and quality control. The investigators summarized the key clinical characteristics of Chinese SLE patients and established a platform to conduct further clinical and basic research. The preliminary results of this study were published in the August 2013 issue of Lupurs. A total of 2104 baseline evaluations were included in the preliminary study, 1914 in women and 190 in men (a sex ratio of 10:1). The mean age of patients was 29.2 years at baseline and 30.3 years one year after diagnosis. 84 of 2002 patients (4.2%) had a family history of rheumatic immune disease, including 34 (1.7%) with a family history of SLE. 107 of 2026 pregnancies were abnormal (5.2%). Comparing the CSTAR cohort with other study cohorts of similar size, 56.1% of patients in CSTAR had comorbid hematologic disease compared with 18.2% of European patients. 47.4% of CSTAR patients had comorbid renal disease compared with 27.9% of European patients. In contrast, neurological manifestations were found in 19.4% of European patients, 12.1% of American patients, 22.8% of Malaysian patients, 26.4% of Latin American patients, but only 4.8% of Chinese patients. Pulmonary hypertension and interstitial lung disease accounted for 3.8% and 4.2% of SLE patients in China, respectively. The CSTAR registry study provided epidemiological information and types of presentation in Chinese SLE patients, demonstrating multiple differences in presentation between races. The clinical data and biological samples obtained will provide valuable information for further national and international translational studies.