Many types of buildings have been widely constructed in the vicinity of subway lines in China. Normal life and business activities are hampered by excessive subway-induced vibrations. This study aims to determine the influence of structure characteristics on structure-borne vibrations, generally based on experimental results. Vibration measurements were performed in four typical sites in Wuxi, China, involving over-track buildings, along-track buildings, frame structure buildings and a masonry building. Special structure designs like structure transfer floor were also included. Then, the captured data was analyzed in the time domain and the frequency domain. Furthermore, the influence of building location, structure type and structure layout was investigated. Finally, vibrations were evaluated with ISO and Chinese criteria and structure optimization for vibration attenuation was proposed. It is found that over-track buildings are more severely affected than along-track buildings. Higher frequency contents (20–60 Hz) in over-track buildings and lower frequency contents (0–10 Hz) in along-track buildings should be seriously considered in vibration control. Weaker structure member joints and lower material strength would be beneficial to over-track buildings while the inverse situation would be beneficial to along-track buildings. The application of structure transfer floor — generally stiffer structure members and structure discontinuity-is also beneficial.