The dead included three people in the SUV, a Philippine woman tourist and another tourist from southern Guangdong Province, police said.
The 38 injured include two female and one male tourist each from the Philippines and Japan.
While the incident created a sensation in the city with no explanation yet, speculation was rife whether it was a terrorist attack.
The sports utility vehicle crashed into a guardrail of Jinshui Bridge across the moat of the Forbidden City before bursting into flames, the municipal police and Beijing Emergency Medical Centre said.
The injured are receiving treatment at nearby hospitals, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Hundreds of tourists were shocked when the jeep with three occupants including the driver crashed into a series of barricades and went up in flames right in front of the entrance of Forbidden City, the seat of power for generations of Chinese rulers in the last few centuries.
Some tourists said they heard an explosion.
Fire engines and ambulances were rushed to the scene and put out the fire.
As soon as the incident took place, police evacuated the entire area, including two metro stations.