The variability of both the stationary planetary wave activity and the East Asian winter monsoon is strongly associated with the thermal contrast between oceans and landmasses. In this study, we explore the interannual relationship between the monsoon and the wave activity defined by an index of the difference in the divergence of Eliassen-Palm flux between 50¿N at 500 hPa and 40¿N at 300 hPa. It is found that, compared to the winters of low wave activity, the equatorward propagation of planetary waves in the middle and upper troposphere is stronger in the high wave activity winters. During these high activity winters, the upward wave propagation from the troposphere into the stratosphere becomes weaker. This is accompanied by a smaller perturbation in the polar vortex, which tends to be colder and stronger. In the meantime, the East Asian westerly jet stream, the East Asian trough, the Siberian high, and the Aleutian low all become weaker apparently. In particular, the weakening of the Siberian high and the Aleutian low decreases the northeasterly wind over East Asia, leading to a warming condition in the region especially in northeastern Asia. A further analysis reveals that the zonal wavenumber-2 pattern of planetary waves contributes dominantly to the variability of the East Asian winter monsoon.