<p>Cities play a crucial role in implementing carbon reduction strategies and are essential administrative in this effort. A full-scope city CO₂ emission inventory is important for designing effective emission control strategies and is thus crucial for achieving China’s carbon peaking and neutrality goals. However, recent research has focused on Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, with insufficient attention paid to Scope 3 emissions. In this study, we construct a methodological model for full-scope carbon emission accounting at the city level and establish a dataset that includes Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions for Chinese cities in 2023. This dataset provides valuable data support for intercity comparisons and intracity management of city-wide carbon emissions. The total carbon emissions across Chinese cities in 2023 show significant quantitative and spatial differences. Notably, the emissions in the top 10 cities are almost 90 to&#xa0;160 times higher than those in the bottom 10 cities. Cities with higher Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions are predominantly located in the southeastern coastal areas, whereas cities with higher Scope 3 carbon emissions are concentrated in rapidly developing areas of central China.</p>