This paper describes the interannual and submonthly variability (disturbances with periods of less than 1 month) of the North Pacic subtropical high (NPSH) and the characteristics of its westward extension and eastward retreat in June, July, and August from 1979 to 2001. The study was based on 6-hourly data from the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts 40-Year Reanalysis with T106 resolution, Climate Prediction Center Merged Analysis of Precipitation data, and typhoon track data provided by the Japan Meteorological Agency. In the western Pacic, the interannual and submonthly variability of the NPSH were smallest in June and largest in August. To examine the characteristics of the westward ex tension and eastward retreat of the NPSH, an NPSH index was dened as the monthly mean anomaly of geopotential height (Z) at 850 hPa averaged over the western edge (125°-150°E, 17°-32°N) of the NPSH. Using this index, ve extreme years of westward extension and ve of eastward retreat were extracted to represent positive and negative years, respectively. Composite differences were calculated by subtracting the values of negative years from those of positive years. Composite analyses based on the NPSH index revealed several characteristics of the NPSH and its surroundings, including large-scale circulation, sta tionary Rossby waves and small-scale disturbances. In June and July, Baiu frontal activity, including meso α-scale disturbances, was stronger when the NPSH extended westward (in positive years). In positive (negative) years, most typhoons occurred in the western Pacic (western to mid-Pacic). The composite difference of submonthly variability of Z at 850 hPa in August indicated a broad distribution of negative anomalies over the western Pacic; the large-scale horizontal structure of these anomalies was similar to that for the composite difference of monthly mean Z at 850 hPa. The NPSH index and submonthly vari ability of Z at 850 hPa in the index area were signicantly negatively correlated.