Abstract Let M(A) denote the comparison matrix of a square H-matrix A, that is, M(A) is an M -matrix. H-matrices such that their comparison matrices are nonsingular are well studied in the literature. In this paper, we study characterizations of H-matrices with either singular or nonsingular comparison matrices. The spectral radius of the Jacobi matrix of M(A) and the generalized diagonal dominance property are used in the characterizations. Finally, a classification of the set of general H-matrices is obtained
