A significant portion of the overall heat loss is due to the heat loss through the building envelope. According to the opinions of experts, the surface area of exterior walls has the insulation of about 65 % of the total envelope of apartment buildings; therefore, thermal protection of external walls of buildings is a key issue in ensuring the thermal performance of envelopes of apartment buildings. The author has developed design solutions that assure the thermal protection of exterior walls and that are aimed at identifying the optimal solution in terms of the location of insulation materials, their thermal performance and insulation of exterior walls of apartment buildings in central regions of China. The author presents a comparative analysis of the main methodologies of thermal insulation designated for the exterior walls of multi-storey residential buildings: internal and external insulation, as well as the insulation in-between the wall layers. The analyses of wall designs are based on the insulation performance, thermal insulation performance, methods of mounting different systems of insulation, and cost of work. As a result, practical recommendations originate from the statement that the most optimal designs of exterior walls of monolithic high-rise apartment buildings of central regions of China are those that have insulation on the outside of the building. They include layers of insulation made of extruded polystyrene, which is currently planned for use in the construction of high-rise monolithic residential buildings in central China.