The Zhujiang River Estuary is located in the northern South China Sea. It has a wide intertidal zone and a high diversity of intertidal macrobenthos. However, most of the previous intertidal-related studies and intertidal species records were carried out on the east coast of the Zhujiang River Estuary, while studies on the west coast of the Zhujiang River Estuary were relatively scarce. From 2021 to 2023, a comprehensive survey focus on Brachyura (crabs), one of the main groups of intertidal macrobenthos, was conducted in the intertidal zone of Qi’ao Island, Zhuhai City, western Zhujiang River Estuary. Combined with the collection and revision of species recorded in previous studies, an updated checklist of intertidal crabs in Qi’ao Island was created, and the ecological and geographical distribution of these crab species were described. A total of 90 specimens were colleted and 31 species from 10 families and 21 genera were identified. Seventeen species (e.g. Orisarma patshuni and Anomalifrons lightana) were new to the Qi’ao Island, and one species (Hemigrapsus takanoi) were new to the Zhujiang River Estuary. The updated checklist includes 48 intertidal crab species belonging to 13 families and 29 genera, among which Sesarmidae (10 species), Varunidae (10) and Ocypodidae (8) are the three most species-rich families. The crab fauna composition of the island is mainly composed of East Asian endemic taxa and Indo-West Pacific/West Pacific widespread taxa, showing overwhelming East Asian warm water characteristics. Mudflats and mangroves are the most abundant habitat types for crab species on the island. Our results has increased the number of intertidal crab species on the west coast of the Zhujiang River Estuary from 31 to 55 species, which is the same as the number of species recorded in Shenzhen Bay on the east coast of the Zhujiang River Estuary. The total number of intertidal crab species recorded in the Zhujiang River Estuary has reached 77 species in 14 families and 38 genera, of which 33 species (42.9%) has been reported on both the east and west coasts.