Objective  To examine the utilization and implementation of basic public health services (BPHS) among urban and rural residents in Henan province in 2017.

  Methods  We conducted a questionnaire survey among 2 680 urban and rural residents randomly recruited in 18 prefectures/cities and counties directly under provincial administration of Henan province. The utilization of BPHS among the residents was described with means and percentage. Univariate and multivariate variance and regression analyses were performed in evaluation on the residents′ satisfaction to BPHS.

  Results  Of the urban and rural residents surveyed, 99.39% and 97.62% reported the establishment of their health records; 98.16% and 96.19% had ever participated in health education programs. Of the 404 urban and 258 rural parents, 94.06% and 98.45% reported their children′s utilization of preventive vaccinations free of charge. Among the 367 urban and 254 rural maternal women, 95.37% and 94.49% had received free maternal health management services. For the 445 urban and 264 rural participants with hypertension, 96.85% and 93.56% had received health management free of charge. Of the 413 urban and 275 rural participants aged 65 years and older, 98.06% and 93.09% had received health management free of charge. The participants′ satisfaction to BPHS was mainly influenced by living region (urban or rural), gender and age; the satisfaction of urban participants was higher than that of rural participants; the female participants reported higher satisfaction compared to the male participants; the participants′ satisfaction declined with the increment of their age.

  Conclusion  The utilization of basic public health services is generally high among urban and rural residents of Henan province but the utilization needs to be improved among the rural residents.