This study investigates the perceptions of error gravity by native and non-native teachers of English in a Chinese context. Drawing on the data collected from a questionnaire, we examined the practices of error evaluation by 22 native English-speaking (NES) teachers and 25 non-native English-speaking (NNES) teachers. Participants were asked to identify student errors based on a random selection of fifty compositions written by Chinese university students, correct the errors of the sentences, and indicate which errors they considered the most serious. General comparison of error evaluation between the two groups of teachers reveals that NES teachers are generally more tolerant of student errors and rely more on intelligibility rather than rule infringement. An in-depth analysis of these findings suggests that these differences are closely connected with the participants’ cultural belief, educational background, teaching style, and English proficiency.