Three new species of the genus Stenus Latreille (subgenus Stenus) are described: Stenus (s. str.) asprohumilis, sp. n., from Shanxi, S. (s. str.) conseminiger, sp. n., from Shaanxi and S. (s. str.) ambiseminiger, sp. n., from Heilongjiang province. In addition, the paper reviews the history of exploration of the Chinese species of the subgenus Stenus. Some important morphological features like hind wing, the male eighth and ninth abdominal sternites, the aedeagus and the spermatheca are illustrated for the new species. (C) 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.