Abstract: Using conventional meteorological observation data, observations from regional automatic weather station, NCEP reanalysis data as well as the numerical simulation by the mesoscale model WRF, we have performed an analysis of the surface physical fields and the temperature vertical structures of a freezing rain event in south China in early 2008. The results indicate that in the event freezing rain corresponds well with some other precipitation types in the ranges of surface characteristic parameters, and it is somewhat similar to the other precipitation types in the temperature vertical structure of inversion area. So only by surface conditions and the presence of "cold-warm-cold" vertical structures to forecast freezing rain is it likely to result in higher false hit rate. The area of large values of inversion gradient (about 1-2 ℃/vertical coordinate layer or 3-5 ℃/km) can better characterize the freezing rain zone of this event, and the inversion gradient values are lower in the east and higher in the west when freezing rain occurred. The large inversion gradient value is a significant feature that freezing rain differs from some other precipitation types in vertical temperature fields in the event.