This article explores the language situation of the “the Belt and Road” countries,including official language,ethnic language,and foreign language.Drawing on an extensive secondary research of offi cial and scholarly literature,we propose that at least 65 countries are connected by “the Belt and Road”,and no less than 53 official languages are used in these countries.The study fi nds that most of the countries have one official language,except 12 countries which have more than one official language.Further,most of the countries emphasize the importance of official language and stipulate that in the constitutions.Arabic serves as the offi cial language of 14 countries,mostly in West Asia and North Africa.Moreover,various ethnic languages are spoken in “the Belt and Road” countries,and the distribution of ethnic languages is closely connected to the historical and political situations of the country concerned.Foreign language is an important part in the language situation of these countries.English is a global language and in many cases is a second language or a foreign language in “the Belt and Road” countries.Languages such as Russian have enduring regional infl uences and still are widely used in the former Soviet Union countries.Remarkably,Chinese becomes increasingly important along with the establishment of Confucius Institutes.The paper shows that “the Belt and Road” countries have rich linguistic resources,complex language situations,and that language issues can be crucial for the success of “the Belt and Road Initiatives”.