OBJECTIVES: To establish the reliability and validity of the Chinese (Cantonese) version of the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory to measure the self-perceived handicapping effect and severity of the condition in patients with chronic tinnitus. DESIGN: Cross-sectional psychometric validation study. SETTING: Audiology clinics in a hospital setting. PARTICIPANTS: Subjects were 114 adult Chinese who attended the audiology clinics with a complaint of tinnitus. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Test-retest and internal consistency reliability; construct validity. RESULTS: The Chinese version of the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory and its subscales showed good internal consistency reliabilities (alpha = 0.72-0.94) that are comparable to those of the original version. High correlations were observed between the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory and psychological distress, tinnitus-related problem ratings and severity ratings. Factor analysis showed that the Chinese version of the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory has a unifactorial structure. A high degree of test-retest reliability was observed (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.88). CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that the Chinese (Cantonese) version of the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory is a reliable and valid measure of general tinnitus-related distress that can be used in clinical settings to quantify the impact of tinnitus on daily life.