Objective  To analyze the status quo of and the management on physical education teaching and their association with qualification rate of physical fitness among the students in primary and secondary schools in China and to provide evidences for improving physical education and the students′ physical fitness.

  Methods  Using stratified sampling, we carried out field surveys and questionnaire interviews among 2 329 urban and rural primary and secondary schools in 17 provincial-level administrative regions across China during 2018. The implementation of and disparities in physical education teaching and their influences on students′ physical fitness among the schools were analyzed.

  Results  For the 2 329 schools with complete information, only 630 (27.05%) had the number of full-time physical education teachers required by national regulations and there was a significant urban-rural difference in the qualification rate of physical education teacher arrangement (P < 0.01); the ratios of the schools with qualified sports facilities were 36.71% for track-and-field court, 60.07% for basketball court, 43.92% for volleyball courts, and 60.37% for apparatus exercise, respectively, and all the ratios were significantly higher among the rural schools than among the urban schools (P < 0.01 for all). After adjusting for urban-rural region and school type, multivariate linear regression analysis revealed that following three factors were positively correlated with the students′ qualification rate of physical fitness: spending one hour or more per day for having physical activity on campus by the students, working for the organization of school sports program being considered when assessing workload of physical education teachers, and physical education teachers having equal position employment and salary to other staff in the schools.

  Conclusion   Promoting physical education teaching and management could help improve the students′ qualification rate of physical fitness in primary and secondary schools in China.