The mechanism of the Bi-type modulated structure was studied in Bi-based high-temperature superconductors with nominal compositions of Bi2Sr2CaCu2Oy, Bi1.85Pb0.15Sr2CaCu2Oy and Bi1.8Pb0.35Sr2Ca2Cu3Oy. It was found that the three samples annealed in oxygen flow showed the presence of Bi-type modulation in electron diffraction patterns; after the samples were annealed in nitrogen atmosphere the Bi-type modulation still existed for the sample Bi2Sr2CaCu2Oy but disappeared completely for the Pb-doped samples Bi1.85Pb0.15Sr2CaCu2Oy and Bi1.8Pb0.35Sr2Ca2Cu3Oy. This suggests that doping Pb in the Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O system strongly changes the stability of the Bi-type modulation. It is confirmed that the driving force of Bi-type modulation is not the consequence of extra oxygen for the charge balance, but the adjustment of the BiO layer to the lattice mismatch.