With the advances of diagnostic imaging and radiation therapy technology, the limitations of the Chinese 1992 staging system for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) become obvious, and the revision of this system was clearly needed. On December 16, 2008, the Chinese Committee for Staging of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma (CCSNPC) was inaugurated in Guangzhou, China, with the purpose of establishing a platform for the study of the Chinese staging system and ensuring the continuity of the work of NPC staging research. Data from published studies on staging of NPC were collected and reviewed. After extensive evaluation and discussion, the Chinese 2008 staging system for NPC, which was a consensus based on evidence-based medicine and revisions made on the Chinese 1992 staging system, was recommended by CCSNPC. Changes of the staging system including emphasizing the status of MRI in diagnosis and staging; classification of parapharyngeal involvement, cranial nerve involvement, and retropharyngeal lymph node involvement; and T classification in the new system were simplified as well. CCSNPC also proposed a new criterion of the N category. This review discusses the rationale and bases of our primary revisions of this system and proposes an updated system, named the Chinese 2008 staging system for NPC. Further investigations are needed to confirm the effectiveness as well as to provide basis for further improvement of this system.