A sub-provincial division (Chinese: 副省级行政区; pinyin: Fùshěngjí xíngzhèngqū) in China is a prefecture-level city governed by a province promoted by half-a-level. Thus, it is half-a-level under the provincial level, and half-a-level above the prefecture-level, hence the name "sub-provincial".

The promotion applies to all its subdivisions, administrative institutions, and political parties. For example, the mayor of a sub-provincial division is equal in status to a vice-governor of a province.

A sub-provincial division is still administratively governed by a province, just like prefecture-level divisions. However, five of them are also cities specifically designated in the state plan (Chinese: 计划单列市 / 計劃單列市), which enjoy the provincial level authority over economic issues—governmental finance, customs, economic strategy planning, economic policy, foreign economic affairs, banking, etc.

Sub-provincial divisions, similar to prefectural-level divisions, are administrative units comprising, typically, a main central urban area (the core city) surrounded by rural area, which together are divided into districts, and some surrounding counties or county-level cities (all promoted to sub-prefecture level) governed by the sub-provincial division on behalf of the province, which all have their own urban areas surrounded by their own rural areas.

The National Joint Conference of Sub-provincial City People's Congress Standing Committee Chairpersons (全国副省级城市人大常委会主任联席会议) are attended by the chairpersons and vice-chairpersons of all sub-provincial cities. It was proposed by the Guangzhou Municipal People's Congress in 1985. The conferences:

1. Guangzhou (26 February – 4 March 1985)
2. Harbin (27–31 August 1985)
3. Wuhan (20–24 May 1986)
4. Dalian (10–14 August 1987)
5. Xi'an (9–13 September 1988)
6. Shenyang (13–17 August 1990)
7. Chongqing (22–26 November 1991)
8. Qingdao (3–7 May 1992)
9. Shenzhen (25–28 October 1993)
10. Nanjing (1–4 November 1994)
11. Changchun (21–24 May 1995)
12. Hangzhou (20–24 October 1996)
13. Jinan (19–25 October 1997)
14. Xiamen (12–16 October 1998)
15. Ningbo (17–20 October 1999)
16. Chengdu (10–13 October 2000)
17. Guangzhou (30 October – 3 November 2001)
18. Harbin (23–26 July 2002)
19. Wuhan (8–12 October 2003)
20. Shenyang (31 August – 6 September 2004)
21. Qingdao (6–8 September 2005)
22. Shenzhen (20–23 October 2006)
23. Dalian (14–16 August 2007)
24. Xi'an (13–16 April 2009)
25. Nanjing (18–20 October 2010)
26. Changchun (22–25 August 2011)