Objective  To describe epidemiological characteristics of confirmed novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in Liaoning province and to provide evidences for prevention and control of the epidemic.

  Methods  We collected the data on all confirmed COVID-19 cases registered in Liaoning province up to March 26, 2020 and analyzed the data using descriptive statistics.

  Results  The first confirmed COVID-19 case in Liaoning province was reported on January 22, 2020 and totally 125 confirmed cases were reported till March 26, 2020, with a cumulated incidence rate of 0.287 per 100 000 population. Of the reported cases, 68 were male and 57 were female and the gender ratio was 1.19 : 1. The age of the cases ranged 4 – 85 years; the proportions of the cases aged 0 – 29, 30 – 59, and ≥ 60 were 16.80%, 62.40%, and 20.80%, respectively, with a median of 44 years. The reported cases distributed in 49 counties (accounting for 49.0% of all counties) and 13 municipalities (92.9% of all municipalities) across the province. Of all the reported cases, 44.8% had the history of living in Hubei province or Wuhan city and 19.2% had the history of living in provinces other than local regions and Hubei province. The highest daily number of reported cases was 12 on February 1st, 2020 and the daily number of reported cases declined and there was no confirmed case from February 17, 2020 until February 28, 2020.

  Conclusion  The novel coronavirus disease 2019 was transmitted rapidly in Liaoning province during the period from January 22 to February 17, 2020 and the epidemic still needs to be under surveillance for effective prevention.