To assess the status of avian leukosis virus subgroup J (ALV-J) in wild ducks in China, we examined samples from 528 wild ducks, representing 17 species, which were collected in China over the past 3 years. Virus isolation and PCR showed that 7 ALV-J strains were isolated from wild ducks. The env genes and the 3'UTRs from these isolates were cloned and sequenced. The env genes of all 7 wild duck isolates were significantly different from those in the prototype strain HPRS-103, American strains, broiler ALV-J isolates and Chinese local chicken isolates, but showed close homology with those found in some layer chicken ALV-J isolates and belonged to the same group. The 3'UTRs of 7 ALV-J wild ducks isolates showed close homology with the prototype strain HPRS-103 and no obvious deletion was found in the 3'UTR except for a 1 bp deletion in the E element that introduced a binding site for c-Ets-1. Our study demonstrated the presence of ALV-J in wild ducks and investigated the molecular characterization of ALV-J in wild ducks isolates.