Student loans schemes have developed rapidly alongside China's move towards mass higher education. In this paper, the main features of the existing four types of student loan schemes are compared. In particular, the providers of principal loan, borrower eligibility, loan size, loan origination, interest subsidy, risk-sharing, repayment conditions and loan collection are examined. The authors of this article will then predict the problems and challenges confronting the reform of the student loans system in China and suggest that the feasible option for the future is to allow for the co-existence and competition of a variety of student loans schemes and to explore more mature student loans schemes through institutional innovations. (Contains 4 tables and 10 footnotes.)