The number was 27.3 million more than the end of last year and was boosted by more fixed-line users switching to mobile services because of lower rates, the ministry said.
China's fixed-line operators lost 4.4 million subscribers in the first quarter of this year, sharply bringing down the number of fixed-line customers to 361 million by the end of March, official Xinhua news agency said.
The telecom industry reported a 10.8 per cent jump in revenue at $27.7 billion.
Mobile phone users in China sent 174.9 billion text messages in the first quarter, a 28.8 per cent rise over the same period last year, it said.
