It is vital to construct low-carbon city in China in order to mitigate the huge cost of climate change especially when considering the great contribution of cities to the national greenhouse gas emissions. Many Chinese cities have made efforts in construction of low-carbon city in recent years from various aspects. The low-carbon practice in Chinese cities was reviewed in this paper, including setting up urban low-carbon development planning, establishing low-carbon demonstrative areas, focusing on such specific fields as sustainable energy system, ecological industry, green transportation, and green building. The effect of the low-carbon practice was also evaluated and certain issues requiring further concerns were discussed. It is expected that the discussion in this paper is helpful for promoting the construction of low-carbon city in China. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.