Although there were many reports on gastric emptying in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in western country, there was no scientific paper about it in Chinese. In 22 cases of GERD, diagnosed by clinical manifestations, endoscopy, histology and 24-hour pH monitoring in the distal portion of esophagus, gastric liquid emptying was measured by using absorption test. The results suggested that the mean time to reach the peak of the serum paracetamol level after taking 500ml water was 34.02 +/- 9.09 min. in 13 healthy adults and 51.14 +/- 23.35 min. in 22 cases of GERD. The difference between the two groups was significant (P < 0.02). Among these 22 patients, 12(54.54%) had delayed gastric emptying, 1 rapid and 9 normal. Our data confirmed that gastric liquid emptying was delayed in some patients with GERD.