Housing is a cultural tool which enables one to see through a certain generation, and the types of housing in a specific cultural area are both physical and spiritual results formed by life activities. Therefore, housing, the center area for the human life, is a bowl, putting various meanings of life into the complicated environment. Its formal and spacial variety is a result of interaction in human life. This study analyzes fundamental problems and characteristics of asian traditional housing by comparing those in city of Seoul and Shang-hai. From the results of this study, many differences have been found in traditional housing in Seoul and Shanghai despite of high similarity m culture and ideology. This results from a same Confucian culture that accepts the feng shui theory which has evolved through different environments. Therefore, this study aims to understand housing cultures in two cities by analysing the attributes of housing data from selected traditional housing types in Seoul and Shanghai. Also, issues of fundamental characteristics of the two cities through the development of residential environment are studied to provide important data for the future development of housing environment of both cities.