Objective  To examine the prevalence of stunting and the effect of feeding behavior on the prevalence among 6 – 24 months old children in China.

  Methods  We extracted the data on 10 084 children aged 6 – 24 months from the dataset of Chinese Nutrition and Health Surveillance conducted in 2013; then we calculated height-for-age Z-score (HAZ) for all the children and analyzed the association of feeding behavior with the HAZ of among the children.

  Results  The stunting prevalence rate was 7.17% for all the children in 2013 and the rate of the boys was higher than that of the girls (8.87% vs. 5.35%). The children with higher familial annual income per capita and maternal education level had a lower stunting prevalence rate compared to other children. The stunting prevalence rate was 2.83%, 5.33%, 7.66%, and 14.36% for the children in large cities, small and medium-sized cities, non-poverty counties, and poverty counties, respectively, and there was a significant disparity in the stunting prevalence rate among the children living in different regions (P < 0.05). Logistic regression analysis revealed that the intake frequency of various kinds of food during latest one week was a main factor for stunting among the children.

  Conclusion  The prevalence rate of stunting remains high among the infants and young children aged 6 – 24 months in poverty rural areas in China and feeding behavior can affect the growth and development of the children directly. The results suggest that scientific feeding should be promoted in the children and special concern should be paid to the quantity and quality of complementary food supplementation.