Hubei has been said to be one of the originating places of the Chinese people. Today, many minority ethnic groups live in this area including: Miao, Tujia, Dong and some others.

The population of the minority people is 2,579,700, and takes up 4.34% of the total population. The majority of the population of minority people is Tujia, Miao, Hui, and Dong, among which Tujia has a population of 2,000,000, taking up 88% of the minority people.