This study examines Chinese and U.S. teachers’ beliefs concerning effective teaching within a cultural context. Nine Chinese teachers and 11 U.S. teachers were selected for the study.The findings from this study reveal that although sharing some common beliefs, the two groups of teachers think differently about both mathematics understanding and the features of effective teaching. These differences of teachers’ beliefs are discussed in a cultural context. Finally, the findings of this study have a number of implications for future studies that examine cross-cultural beliefs of effective teaching from teachers’ perspectives.