Objective  To investigate psychological status and occupational stability among staff in centers for disease control and prevention (CDCs) during conronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic.

  Methods  With convenient sampling and snowball sampling, we recruited 405 staff in CDCs at various levels for an online anonymous survey during COVID-19 epidemic (from February 26 to March, 2020). A self-designed questionnaire was used to assess the staff′s psychological status and occupational stability.

  Results  Valid information were collected from 98.78% (405) of the staff. The participants′ average working years was 13.40 ± 10.14 and the average working hours per day during the epidemic period were 9.56 ± 3.30. Multivariate analysis indicated that job dedication and perceived organizational support were associated positively with occupational self-concept but reversely with emotional exhaustion. The participants′ job stability differed by their working years. Worrying about infection was an independent factor affecting the occupational stability (β = – 0.14, P = 0.034) only among the participants with service durations less than 10 years; among the participants with 10 – 19 years of working, the perceived organizational support was positively correlated with job stability (β = 0.35, P < 0.001); while for the participants with at least 20 years of service, the occupational stability was associated positively with occupational dedication (β = 0.28, P = 0.002) but reversely with emotional exhaustion (β = – 0.23, P = 0.008) and those correlations were more stronger among the female participants than among the male participants.

  Conclusion  Emotional exhaustion, perceived organizational support and dedication are main factors affecting occupational self-concept and occupational stability among staff in CDCs during COVID-19 epidemic.