Objective  To explore prevalence characteristics of injuries among migrant workers in Guangzhou city of Guangdong province from 2014 through 2018 and to provide evidences for developing injury prevention measures for the population.

  Methods  The information on injury incidents among migrant workers in Gurangzhou city from 2014 through 2018 were extracted from medical records of 5 sentinel hospitals covered by the National Injury Surveillance System. Descriptive statistics was performed on the collected data.

  Results  Totally 64 398 injuries of migrant workers were diagnosed during the 5-year period; the average age was 35.71 ± 11.31 years and the male to female ratio was 2.14 : 1 for all the injury cases. The top 3 injury types were blunt (21.32%), cut/stab (21.31%) and fall (18.86%) injuries; the top 3 sittings for the injury incidents were home (28.18%), factory or construction site (26.66%), and traffic road or street (21.05%); and the top 3 movements of the injury occurrences were during working (35.41%), leisure activity (21.37%) and driving (12.90%), respectively. More occupational injuries, majorly cut/stab and blunt injuries at industrial production or construction sites, occurred among male migrant workers than among female migrant workers. However, more non-occupational injuries while doing housework or taking leisure activities occurred among female migrant workers than among male migrant workers.

  Conclusion  The injuries among migrant workers in Guangzhou city differed by gender, sitting, and personal activity. Specific interventions should be carried to prevent injury among different migrant worker groups.