Quantitative ultrasound (QUS) assessment at the calcaneus has been found to be a safe and reliable method for evaluating skeletal status. The present study aimed at evaluating the precision of the Sahara bone ultrasound densitometer and to determine the normative QUS data in healthy southern Chinese women. Broadband ultrasound attenuation (BUA), speed of sound (SOS) and qualitative ultrasound index (QUI) were determined. The long-term in vitro precision of the Sahara machine over 6 months was 4.6% for BUA and 0.39% for SOS. The short-term in vivo precision was 3.2 +/- 1.3% for BUA, 0.3 +/- 0.2% for SOS and 1.8 +/- 1.0% for QUI. The standardized precision for BUA, SOS and QUI was 4.4, 3.8 and 2.2 respectively. The normative data were determined in 1086 healthy subjects. Postmenopausal women had significantly lower BUA, SOS and QUI levels than the premenopausal women. Significant negative correlations were observed between QUS indices and age. Bone mineral density (BMD) assessments was performed on 349 of these subjects. BUA correlated significantly with lumbar spine BMD (r = 0.326) and femoral neck BMD (r = 0.395). Similar correlations were observed between SOS, QUI and BMD, with r values ranging between 0.446 to 0.522. Despite the fact that Chinese women have significantly lower BMD values than Caucasian women, the mean BUA values for pre- and postmenopausal Chinese women (73 +/- 18 and 59 +/- 18 dB/MHz respectively) were almost the same as those reported for Caucasian women. These normative data will be useful in the assessment of southern Chinese women with fracture risk.