This study examined the distribution of language expansion in parent-child (preschool aged) mealtime conversations in 30 Chinese middle-class families. The conversations were categorised into four types: "contextualised & conflicted," "contextualised & non-conflicted," "decontextualised & conflicted," and "decontextualised & non-conflicted." The language expansions were analysed using the systemic functional linguistic theory related to cohesive patterns in language expansion: "elaborations," "extensions," and "enhancements." While the parents dominated the conversations generally, the children were active contributors, initiating over one-quarter of the conversations. Initiation had an impact on the distribution of the conversational types: the proportions of "contextualised & non-conflicted" conversations was significantly higher in child-initiated conversations. The "contextualised & conflicted" conversations accounted for a higher proportion in parent-initiated conversations. It was the conversational type rather than initiation, which had an effect on the distribution of language expansion patterns. The least occurring "decontextualised & conflicted conversations" generated the most extensions. The frequently appeared "contextualised & non-conflicted" conversations, however, produced the fewest expanded messages. The implications from the findings for promoting high-quality mealtime conversations conducive to children's language learning are discussed.