The difference between prefecture-level cities and county-level cities lies in the different jurisdictions. Prefecture-level cities are under the jurisdiction of the province and county-level cities are under the jurisdiction of prefecture-level cities, so the administrative level of prefecture-level cities is higher.

Prefecture-level city is one of the administrative regions in China, and its administrative status is the same as that of regions, autonomous prefectures and leagues. It belongs to prefecture-level administrative regions and is under the jurisdiction of provinces and autonomous regions.

Prefecture-level cities are simply the first-level governments under the jurisdiction of the provincial level, usually cities.

Prefecture-level cities evolved from regional administrative offices and originated from the reform of "land reform" and "city-city merger" in the 1980s.