OBJECTIVES: To estimate the total economic burden of both peritoneal dialysis and renal anemia treatment in China. METHODS: Eight medical centers with regular follow-up system for peritoneal dialysis patients in 6 provinces were selected for prospective observation research. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were set down before the study through the discussion with clinical experts. Patients had been recruited in the study since July of 2011. Patient baseline characteristics, treatment and expenditure for both outpatient and inpatient during 3-months follow-up duration were recorded. Direct medical costs included fee for registration and services, medical examination, drugs and medical consumable materials. Direct non-medical costs included transportation fee and nursing fee. Off-work days were collected to estimate indirect costs. RESULTS: A total of 149 patients with records of 703 outpatient visits and 19 inpatient stays were collected. Mean age of patients is 50.9 with averagely 3.47 years of peritoneal dialysis treatment and 3.35 years of EPO treatment. The average frequency was 1.41 visits in medical centers per month and 1.23 visits in community health centers. The average cost of EPO was CNY1,518 (US$241) per month with average dosage of 16443IU. Total economic burden per peritoneal dialysis patient was CNY9,756 (US$1,549) per month, including CNY9,163 (US$1,454) for direct medical costs, CNY210 (US$33) for direct non-medical costs and CNY383 (US$61) for indirect costs. The share of total economic burden related to GDP per capita ranged from 1.3 times to 6.4 times in 6 sampling provinces. CONCLUSIONS: The total economic burden of both peritoneal dialysis and renal anemia treatment seems relatively high, which needs more attention from the government and society.