Little is known about the knowledge and practices regarding early detection of cancer for Chinese women either living in their homelands or worldwide. The purpose of this exploratory study is to describe how cultural beliefs and understandings may influence participation in early detection programs for the increasing numbers of Chinese women who live in the United States. The Health Belief Model (HBM) emerged as a useful framework for categorizing data obtained in Mandarin from a qualitative study of married, educated Chinese women (n = 23; mean age 30.4 years) who attended a university clinic. Cultural beliefs about modesty, husband's involvement, self-care, relationship between health and body functions, and use of preventive health behaviors in the absence of illness influenced women's participation and supported the HBM. Early detection was not a clear concept for these women: 80% believed performing monthly breast self-examinations and 70% believed receiving annual Papanicolaou smears would prevent cancer.