Abstract: Objective To understand the distribution of avian influenza viruses in environment of poultry raising farms around East Dongting Lake. Methods Environmental samples were collected from the poultry raising farms around East Dongting Lake during the winter-spring of 2011-2012 for six consecutive months for virus isolation and RT PCR detection. Results About 200 environmental samples were collected every month. The overall positive rate of avian influenza virus was 5.32%, and the positive rate was 5.01% in fecal samples and 5.83% in water samples. The difference had significance. The positive rates in drinking water and pool water were 6.32% and 4.12%, respectively. The difference had no significance. Five strains of avian viruses were isolated, belonging to H5N1, H4N2 and H3N6 viruses. Conclusion It is necessary to conduct regular surveillance for avian influenza viruses all the year round to understand the transmission mechanism of the viruses between wild poultry and domestic poultry and provide evidence for the effective prevention and control of human infection with avian influenza virus.