Objective To investigate the possible infections of SARS-CoV in civet cat bred in the suburbs of Beijing. Methods Pharyngeal swab, anal swab and fur samples collected from 30 civet cats were examined using RT-PCR for SARS-CoV. The neutralized antibodies against SARS-CoV from sera from the civet cats were checked. Results All samples from the civet cats were SARS-CoV negative, and no neutralized antibodies were positive. Conclusion There was no evidence to conclude that the civet cats inbred in the suburbs of Beijing were host of SARS-CoV.