From August 2012 to August 2015, 20 infrared camera-traps were installed in a monitoring grid to investigate terrestrial fauna and avifauna population in the Hupingshan National Nature Reserve of Hunan Province, China. Based on 19,592 camera-days in the field, we identified 21 mammal species belonging to 4 orders and 11 families and 33 bird species belonging to 4 orders and 8 families. Among these, forest musk deer (Moschus berezovskii) was listed as Category I state key protected wild animals and eight species as Category II. Red-hipped squirrel (Dremomys pyrrhomerus) was recorded for the first time in the reserve. Carnivora had the highest species richness among mammals (9 species), followed by Cetartiodactyla (6 species) and Rodentia (5 species). Tufted deer (Elaphodus cephalophus), wild boar (Sus scrofa), red-hipped squirrel, Reeve’s muntjac (Muntiacus reevesi) and Hog badger (Arctonyx collaris) ranked as the five most abundant mammal species according to a relative abundance index. Passeriformes had the highest species richness in bird (25 species), followed by Galliformes (5 species) and Piciformes (2 species). Golden pheasant (Chrysolophus pictus), Temminck's tragopan (Tragopan temminckii) and spotted laughingthrush (Garrulax ocellatus) rank as the three most abundant bird species. In addition, we also analyzed daily and annual activity patterns of the six common species such as golden pheasant, Temminck's tragopan, red-hipped squirrel, tufted deer, wild boar and Reeve’s muntjac.  Our results provide basic information for long-term monitoring of the diversity and density of terrestrial fauna and avifauna inhabiting the Hupingshan region.