Objective:To explore the characteristics of parental emotional regulation(ER)and its influence on the ER of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder(ADHD).Methods:A total of 140 children with ADHD meeting the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,Fourth Edition(DSM-Ⅳ)criteria and their parents,68 normal controls and their parents were recruited.ER was assessed using the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale(DERS),Emotion Regulation Questionnaire(ERQ)and Emotion Regulation Checklist(ERC).Re-sults:Higher scores of DERS in emotion regulation strategies,impulse control and goal-directed behavior were found in parents of children with ADHD compared with parents of normal controls(Ps<0.05).The higher emo-tional lability(EL)of ERC and lower ER of ERC detected in children with ADHD were correlated with the emo-tion regulation strategies,impulse control and goal-directed behavior of their parents(Ps<0.01).The mediation an-alyses suggested that ER in children with ADHD may mediate the relationship of parental emotion regulation strate-gies and parental impulse control with children's EL.Conclusion:Parents of children with ADHD may exhibit emo-tional dysregulation in multiple subdimensions which might affect emotional regulation and aggravate the emotional lability of children with ADHD.