In spite of possessing a large number of natural resources and a favourable tropical climate for agriculture and tourism by the Hainan Province,as well as China’s recent preferential policies for regional development of the coastal region,to date the Island remains as one of the less developed regions of coastal China.In 1988,Hainan was granted provincial status and designated as special economic zone.A four-step ambitious development strategy has recently been outlined to drive the Island’s economy by the year 2007 to the levels enjoyed by certain developed nations.The current study concerns Hainan’s chief transportation--highway.First,the network connectivity(1949,1958,1965,1976,1982,1985and 1990)and passenger traffic patterns(1986)are analyzed.Then,two major recommendations are offered regarding the highway network and traffic pattern in order to meet future transportation demands. In spite of possessing a large number of natural resources and a favourable tropical climate for agriculture and tourism by the Hainan Province, as well as China’s recent preferential policies for regional development of the coastal region, to date the island remains as one of the less developed regions of coastal China.In 1988, Hainan was granted provincial status and designated as special economic zone. A four-step ambitious development strategy has recently been outlined to drive the Island’s economy by the year 2007 to the levels enjoyed by certain developed nations. current study concerns Hainan’s chief transportation - highway. First, the network connectivity (1949,1958,1965,1976,1982,1985and 1990) and passenger traffic patterns (1986) are analyzed. Chen, two major recommendations are offered respect the the highway network and traffic pattern in order to meet future transportation demands.