As　China　has　become　more　attractive　for　foreigners　to　travel　or　work,　some　Chinese-English　bilingual　guide　signs　have　been　adopted　on　the　highways　for　the　convenience　of　foreign　drivers.　This　research　examined　the　effectiveness　of　Chinese-English　bilingual　guide　signs　on　highways　in　China　for　drivers　with　different　language　backgrounds.　The　study　involved　three　different　groups　of　participants:　Chinese　(Group　C),　foreigners　who　passed　the　Chinese　proficiency　test　HSK　(Group　FC),　and　foreigners　without　Chinese　proficiency　test　(Group　F).　A　driving　simulator　and　an　eye　tracker　were　used　to　obtain　eye　movement　and　driving　behaviour　data　for　both　monolingual　and　bilingual　guide　sign　scenes.　The　results　showed　that,　for　Groups　C　and　FC,　their　performance　in　the　two　scenes　had　little　difference　when　the　number　of　Chinese　place　(destination)　names　on　the　sign　was　5　or　less.　However,　the　performance　of　Groups　C　and　FC　in　the　bilingual　guide　sign　scene　was　worse　than　that　in　the　Chinese　guide　sign　scene　when　the　number　of　place　names　exceeded　5.　Moreover,　the　participants’　performance　worsened　as　the　number　of　place　names　increased　for　all　different　groups　within　the　same　scene.　Thus,　the　threshold　of　the　number　of　place　names　for　bilingual　guide　signs　on　highways　appears　to　be　5.　Actually,　the　English　place　names　on　the　bilingual　guide　signs　did　not　have　much　practical　effect　on　the　drivers,　since　the　letters　of　the　place　names　were　too　small　to　be　quickly　seen　and　the　translation　was　inaccurate.　©　2019　Elsevier　Ltd