Little attention is paid in the extant academic literature to the question of housing knowledge workers despite the potential mismatches between housing supply and demand. This paper provides an initial examination of housing the knowledge economy in China, focusing on three science parks (SPs): Zhongguancun (Z-Park, Beijing), Zhangjiang (Z-SHIP, Shanghai) and Optics Valley of China (OVC, Wuhan). It discusses to what extent, and how these three SPs have factored in the housing dimension in connection with the knowledge economy, paying particular attention to housing affordability, location (inside the SPs or outside in the wider city-region) and the mode of provision (market or state). Insights were drawn from documentary analysis and in depth interviews in the three chosen case studies. Initial evaluation of policies geared towards housing supply in China suggests that the housing question needs to come to the fore in discussions of structural transformation towards the knowledge economy. Since the 1980s, economic development strategies for nations, regions and cities have emphasized the potential importance of science parks (SPs), science cities, techno poles and the like (Castells and Hall, 1994; Miao et al., 2015). Designated zones such as these are seen to be important in raising creativity, innovation and productivity in many national settings. However, scholars and practitioners have emphasized their economic contributions, without much regard for what wider infrastructure is required to have these knowledge facilities function effectively. Housing provision is just a case in point. Such negligence is problematic as housing is an important ingredient among the collective consumption needs of those employed in SPs and constitutes the quality of place (Florida, 2002) for the wider city region.