On 31 December 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) was alerted about a cluster of pneumonia of unknown aetiology in the city of Wuhan, China [1,2]. Only a few days later, Chinese authorities identified and characterised a novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) as the causative agent of the outbreak [3]. The outbreak appears to have started from a single or multiple zoonotic transmission events at a wet market in Wuhan where game animals and meat were sold [4] and has resulted in 5,997 confirmed cases in China and 68 confirmed cases in several other countries by 29 January 2020 [5]. Based on the number of exported cases identified in other countries, the actual size of the epidemic in Wuhan has been estimated to be much larger [6]. At this early stage of the outbreak, it is important to gain understanding of the transmission pattern and the potential for sustained human-to-human transmission of 2019-nCoV. Information on the transmission characteristics will help coordinate current screening and containment strategies, support decision making on whether the outbreak constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), and is key for anticipating the risk of pandemic spread of 2019-nCoV. In order to better understand the early transmission pattern of 2019-nCoV, we performed stochastic simulations of early outbreak trajectories that are consistent with the epidemiological findings to date.