We elucidated the molecular epidemiology and evolution of Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) strains isolated from 1949 to 2009 in China in this study. Three genotypes (I, III, V) were confirmed to be co-circulating in China in both high- and low-prevalence areas. Genotype III consisted of two clades (mainland clade and Taiwan clade). Compared to the mainland clade, genotype I and the Taiwan clade were newly introduced and evolved more rapidly. We also demonstrated that JEV strains in China, especially those in the mainland clade, were not only under purifying selection, but also probably under positive selection (aa 227 and 408 in the envelope protein).