Abstract: Appropriate territorial division of labor established around core cities is the key for integrating function, operating harmoniously and promoting the advantage of stronger interaction between neighboring cities. Complementary urban functions among cities within the metropolitan region are regarded as the basis to such a well-operated division system. In this paper, the correspondence analysis is used to gain some graphs and a single statistic (this statistic is called total inertial which can reflect the complementarity of urban functions) to analyze the differentiation and change of urban functions. The study investigates the features and patterns of the territorial division of labor in three major metropolitan regions of China, as well as their changes over time from 1997 to 2007, through these graphs and statistical data. The functional complementarity among cities of China’s three major metropolitan regions is also analyzed. The results show that the generalized functions of the three metropolitan regions are service functions which were differentiating, and high-end service functions were becoming specialized and concentrated into central cities over time. Manufacturing functions in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and the Yangzi River Delta region were becoming specialized. By contrast, these functions were generalized. At the same time, Changes in manufacturing functions in each metropolitan region are different, reflected by different spatial trends of manufacturing redistributions too. Different patterns of the territorial division of labor in each metropolitan region are found. The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and the Pearl River Delta region are characterized by the two-center pattern, while the Yangzi River Delta region is characterized by the monocentric pattern. The analysis of the total inertia of core cities shows that the potential complementarity of urban functions among cities in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region is the best in three major metropolitan regions of China. However, such advantages are not fully taken mainly due to huge industry gap and the lack of a well-functioned regional coordination system.