The subfamily Necrophilinae Newton is recorded for the first time from China. This subfamily belongs to the Agyrtinae Thomson, a group of beetles which were once included in the Silphidae but are now recognized as an independent family more closely related to the Leiodidae than the Silphidae. Based on 619 specimens collected by pitfall traps from Sichuan province of western China, Necrophilus chinensis Zhou, new species, is described. The endophallus of the aedeagus was studied and is illustrated for the first time for this subfamily. This study fills a distribution gap of Necrophilus Latreille between Japan and Nepal-Bhutan and contributes important data to zoogeographical studies of this group.