Abstract: With the rapid economic development in East Asia, atmospheric aerosol becomes one of the key air pollutants, whose spatial and temporal distribution was affected by the East Asian monsoon climate. In this study, MODIS and TOMS aerosol products, as well as NCEP reanalysis monthly meteorological field data were used to statistically analyze regional distribution of aerosol optical thickness and atmospheric circulation of winter monsoon between 1979 and 2011 in East Asia. Additionally, analysis on the effect of East Asia winter monsoon on the distribution of aerosol were carried out. Investigations showed that the East Asian winter monsoon has strong inter-annual and inter-decadal variations, while inter-annual variation was more significant. In 1979-2011, East Asian winter monsoon exhibits a gradually decreasing trend. Aerosol optical thickness was continuously increasing in East Asia during recent ten years, probably due to enhancement of human activities which could intensify aerosol emissions. East Asia winter monsoon has significant influence on distribution of aerosol. For instance, strong winter monsoon can reinforce transportation of aerosols to the south area, and increasing precipitation leads to faster wet deposition and less burden of aerosol. It seems that the precipitation scavenging effect is more efficient rather than the wind transport effect.