Investigators blamed shoddy construction and materials for the collapse of the eight-story building in the central city of Hengyang during a fire in November 2003.
Li Wenge, the building's developer, was sentenced to 18 months for using poor-quality cement and failing to submit the blueprints for approval, the official Xinhua News Agency said.
Five others received prison terms ranging from one to three years, the report said.
It didn't explain why the prison terms were so short. Chinese courts often impose long sentences for negligence, and convicts occasionally are sentenced to death if it causes fatalities.
The government said the 2003 fire was the biggest single loss of life for China's firefighting forces since communist rule began in 1949.
Xinhua on Friday didn't identify the other defendants, but earlier reports said they included the general manager of the construction company and the chief of the building project.
Li lacked a construction permit and hired workers and architects that had not been approved by the city government, according to earlier reports.
Xinhua earlier quoted neighbors as saying the blaze was probably caused by two escaped criminals roasting red peppers on the first floor of the building.
