BackgroundPeatlands contain about 500 Pg of carbon worldwide and play a dual role as both a carbon sink and an important methane (CH4) source, thereby potentially influencing climate change. However, systematic studies on peat properties, microorganisms, methanogenesis, and their interrelations in peatlands remain limited, especially in China. Therefore, the present study aims to investigate the physicochemical properties, archaeal community, and predominant methanogenesis pathways in three typical peatlands in China, namely Hani (H), Taishanmiao (T), and Ruokeba (R) peatlands, and quantitively determine their CH4production potentials.ResultsThese peatlands exhibited high water content (WC) and total carbon content (TC), as well as low pH values. In addition, R exhibited a lower dissolved organic carbon concentration (DOC), as well as higher total iron content (TFe) and pH values compared to those observed in T. There were also clear differences in the archaeal community between the three peatlands, especially in the deep peat layers. The average relative abundance of the total methanogens ranged from 10 to 12%, of whichMethanosarcinalesandMethanomicrobialeswere the most abundant in peat samples (8%). In contrast,Methanobacterialeswere mainly distributed in the upper peat layer (0–40 cm). Besides methanogens,Marine Benthic Group D/Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vent Euryarchaeotic Group 1(MBG–D/DHVEG–1),Nitrosotaleales, and several other orders ofBathyarchaeotaalso exhibited high relative abundances, especially in T. This finding might be due to the unique geological conditions, suggesting high archaeal diversity in peatlands. In addition, the highest and lowest CH4production potentials were 2.38 and 0.22 μg g−1d−1in H and R, respectively. The distributions of the dominant methanogens were consistent with the respective methanogenesis pathways in the three peatlands. The pH, DOC, and WC were strongly correlated with CH4production potentials. However, no relationship was found between CH4production potential and methanogens, suggesting that CH4production in peatlands may not be controlled by the relative abundance of methanogens.ConclusionsThe results of the present study provide further insights into CH4production in peatlands in China, highlighting the importance of the archaeal community and peat physicochemical properties for studies on methanogenesis in distinct types of peatlands.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40793-023-00503-y.