Purpose Drawing on the literature regarding gender, marital status and homeownership, this paper aims to examine the role of gender and marital status played in homeownership in urban China. This paper also attempted to shed light on other determinants of homeownership as well as heterogeneity in the factors related to homeownership between never married women and never married men. Design/methodology/approach This study uses data from the 2010 to 2015 China General Social Survey to investigate factors related to homeownership among urban Chinese households and focuses on the role of gender and marital status in particular. Multivariate analyses were applied to the full sample, never married sample, never married women sample and never married men sample respectively. Findings Findings from this study on the full sample showed that never married individuals were less likely to be the homeowners compared to the married couples. The probability of homeownership of never married women was lower compared to the never married men cohort. Different personal characteristics contributed to homeownership between never married women and never married men cohort. Research limitations/implications The empirical model in this study did not provide direct evidence that never married individuals were more likely to be homeowners as reflected in the recent mass media news. Further study could conduct a survey designed specifically for this group. Originality/value This study adds to current literature with further understanding of factors related to homeownership among Chinese households in general as well as in never married women and never married men subsamples.