Abstract: Objective To understand levels and dynamic changes of environmental health situations in rural areas of Shantou City in Guangdong Province,provide scientific basis for improving rural health standards. Methods From 2016 to 2020,400 administrative villages and 2 000 families were selected from 4 districts（counties） in rural areas of Shantou City by the stratified random sampling method for the investigation. The relevant data were collected through surveys and interviews,including basic information,toilets,garbage and sewage,and vector control. The collected data were evaluated to understand environmental health situations in rural areas of Shantou City. Results From 2016 to 2020,the composition of the economic source was statistically significant different（χ²=109.300,P<0.05）,and the main economic source of income was from migrant work since 2017. The drinking water was mainly provided by centralized water supply（99.24%）,and reservoir water was the main water source（63.64%）. The proportion of residents washing their hands before and after using the toilet was 85.7%. The proportion of residents bought pesticides was 28.75%,and 87.65% of the users had taken protective measures when pesticides were used. A few residents had reported discomfort symptoms after dispensing or using pesticides（2.43%）. The pesticide wastes were largely discarded in fields or landfill（56.17%）. The proportion of sanitary toilets was 98.21%,the toilet room were basically clean（99.50%）,and excrement was mainly disposed into drainage systems（79.90%）. The majority of household garbage was collected uniformly and disposed off in landfills. The proportions of straw burning and of agricultural film use had decreased significantly. Most part of domestic sewage was discharged into rivers through pipes. 62.10% of houses had breeding sites for vectors which were mostly garbage delivery points（59.66%）. Most household（75.00%） had carried out control work against mice,flies,mosquitoes and cockroaches. Some administrative villages had no explicit environmental health management systems（5.00%） nor relevant plumbing（16.50） and publicity education（8.75%）. Conclusion The rural environmental health situations in Shantou City has improved from 2016 to 2020,however,personal hygiene awareness,fecal waste sewage treatment,vector prevention and control,and environmental health management should be improved.

Key words: Rural area, Environmental health, Cross-sectional study