The firm filed an application with the Hong Kong stock exchange on Thursday in a bid to boost growth in one of the world's fastest growing movie markets.
Imax's China profits jumped nearly 30% last year, according to the filing.
It has been rapidly expanding in the Greater China region, nearly doubling the number of theatres since 2012.
March figures indicate Imax has 239 theatres in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, but the company says it is planning to build another 219 theatres in China.
News of the listing comes as box office revenue in the world's second largest economy jumped 36% last year to $4.9bn (Â£3.2bn), which is nearly three times more than it was 2010.
The parent company is already listed in New York and its shares rose as much as 9% after the announcement.

The 24 crew, mostly from Eastern Europe and Asia, are still on board the Maersk Tigris, anchored off Bandar Abbas.
Maersk said it still did not know the reason why the Marshall Islands-flagged vessel was seized, and noted it had been in an international shipping lane.
But Iranian authorities noted that it had been in the country's waters.
Iranian media cited an official as saying the ship was seized based on a court order in connection with a complaint made by a private Iranian company about debts.
On Wednesday, Maersk said it had been in contact with Singapore-based Rickmers Shipmanagement, from whom it charters the Maersk Tigris, and was "pleased to learn that the crew is safe and under the circumstances in good spirits".
The crew includes a British national, but no Americans, as initial reports suggested.
"We are continuing our efforts to obtain more information about the Iranian authorities' seizure - in international waters - of Maersk Tigris. We are not able at this point to establish or confirm the reason behind the seizure," Maersk added.
"We remain in close dialogue with the Danish ministry of foreign affairs."
A spokesman for Rickmers Shipmanagement said the vessel had been carrying commercial goods and no "special cargo" such as military equipment.
The incident has prompted the US Navy to dispatch a destroyer and a reconnaissance plane to the area to "monitor" the situation.
A general distress call sent out by the Maersk Tigris on Tuesday morning was picked up by US Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT).
A Pentagon spokesman said Iranian Revolutionary Guards Navy patrol vessels had approached the ship while it was moving through Iranian territorial waters, but inside an area that under international agreement is open to foreign ships making an "innocent passage".
The patrol vessels ordered the container ship to go deeper into Iranian waters, but the master refused. Only when they fired warning shots across its bow, did he comply.
The Pentagon spokesman called the actions of the patrol vessels "inappropriate".

The reforms, ranging from the setting up of small businesses to reducing bureaucracy, had already been agreed by the ruling Communist party.
Mr Castro also hinted that changes to the country's controversial travel and emigration rules could be introduced.
He said those attempting to undermine the reforms could face prosecution.
The BBC's Michael Voss in Havana says one of the biggest obstacles Mr Castro now faces is resistance from party bureaucrats who face losing their job under the changes.
But the president warned lawmakers that "bureaucratic resistance is useless".
Mr Castro told parliament that the time had come for social and political reforms to be introduced. "Let's clean our heads of all sorts of nonsense," he said.
The measures the assembly was discussing in its twice-yearly session include cutting more than one million state jobs in a move to reduce Cuba's vast bureaucracy and reducing the state's role in areas such as agriculture, retail and construction.
Small private businesses will be encouraged to step in to fill the space, while state subsidies for goods and service will be phased out.
Mr Castro also said the government was "working to orchestrate the modernisation" of the country's migration policies.
Human rights groups have long criticised the requirement for Cubans to get government permission to travel abroad - a remnant of the days when Cubans emigrated for political rather than economic reasons.
Mr Castro said the rules had "played a role in their time and endured unnecessarily".
Imax, the Canadian maker of widescreen cinema theatres, is planning an initial public offering (IPO) of its China unit in Hong Kong.
[NEXT_CONCEPT]
The crew of a container ship seized by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday are safe and "in good spirits", Danish shipping company Maersk says.
[NEXT_CONCEPT]
Cuba's National Assembly has given its backing to President Raul Castro's plans to reform the country's stagnating economy.