The ground-level ozone (O 3) concentration in the urban regions of China has become an increasingly noticeable environmental problem in recent years. Many epidemiological studies have reported the association between O 3 pollution and mortality, only a few studies have focused on the O 3-related mortality and corresponding economic effects at the Chinese city and province level. This study reports the seasonal variation of ground-level O 3 in 338 cities of China during the year 2016 and evaluates its effect on premature mortality and economic loss. It further illustrates the differences in cause-specific mortality outcomes of the log-linear and linear model, two of the prominently used methods for estimating health effects. In 2016, the annual average daily maximum 8-h O 3 concentration in China ranged between 74 and 201 μg/m 3 (138±24.7 μg/m 3). 30% of the total population was exposed to> 160 μg/m 3 O 3 concentration (Chinese national ambient air quality standard) and about 67.2% urban population lived in exposure above the WHO recommended O 3 concentrations (100 μg/m 3). The estimated national O 3-attributable mortality was 74.2× 10 3 (95% CI: 16.7× 10 3–127× 10 3) in the log-linear model, whereas, the total O 3-related mortality using the linear model was 69.6× 10 3 (95% CI: 16.2× 10 3–115× 10 3). The exposure to O 3 caused a nationwide economic loss of about 7.6 billion US $(range: 1.7–12.9) in 2016. This study uniquely provides most comprehensive coverage of the Chinese cities for O 3 associated mortality utilizing ground level measurement data for 2016 and presents a measurable assessment to the policymakers of China for streamlining their efforts on air quality improvement and O 3 containment.