UNLABELLED: Accurate determination of sex from the skeletal remains of unidentified individuals is challenging in forensic practice. The bone standards for sex determination are population and generation specific. The present study investigated the potential utility of the craniofacial bones as an indicator of sex in a contemporary sample of the central Chinese population. A total of 171 adults (75 male, 96 female) of known age and sex underwent cone beam computed tomography (CBCT). A three-dimensional image from skull CBCT was reconstructed using specialized software (SimPlant Pro, version 11.04). Eleven linear measurements were selected to be measured, nine of which were sexually dimorphic. Discriminant function analysis (DFA) and logistic regression analysis (LRA) were used to develop mathematical models for sex determination. The equations of various variable combinations achieved classification rates of 83.6% in DFA and 84.8% in LRA, with cross-validation rates >
80%. Results of the present study indicated that the accuracy of the craniofacial bones to determine sex could reach >
80%, and bizygomatic breadth was the most sexually dimorphic variable among the craniofacial bones. KEY POINTS: Sexual dimorphism of 11 linear dimensions of the craniofacial bones of a central Chinese population were studied.The accuracy of the craniofacial bones in determining sex was as high as 84.8%.The craniofacial bones were useful for determining sex in a sample of the central Chinese population.