Compared with observation by ground meteorological stations, satellite monitoring of nighttime land fog can provide a wider range of fog distribution. However, there is a lack of analysis on the applicability of several classical remote sensing retrieval algorithms for nighttime land fog in China. Based on Himawari-8 satellite data, the method of dual channel difference (DCD), the method of temperature difference (DT), and the method of normalized fog index (NDFI) are used to retrieve the nighttime land fog area in China between January 2016 and December 2018. And the critical success index (CSI), the hit rate (HR), the probability of detection (POD), and the false alarm ratio (FAR) are used as index parameters to verify the retrieval results and discuss the applicability of the three methods based on the ground observation data. The results are shown below. 1) The three methods have the best retrieval effect in autumn and winter, among which the DT method performs the best because of its high CSI, high HR, and low FAR. Due to the high POD and high FAR, the effect of DCD method comes second, and the NDFI method performs the worst. 2) The optimal regions for the three methods have slight difference in retrieval of nighttime land fog in autumn and winter, but they all tend to achieve the best results in plains and basins, such as the North China Plain, the Middle-Lower Yangtze Plain, and the Sichuan Basin. 3) The retrieval results of two fog processes in autumn and winter show the DT method and the DCD method both have strong ability to identify the nighttime fog in plain areas, and they have their own advantages in specific fog process.