Objective  To examine the acceptance of mental health education and its associates among elderly migrants and to provide evidences for developing strategies and programs to promote mental health education service and mental health literacy in the population.

  Methods  The data on 5 729 migrant people aged 60 years and above and living locally at least 6 months were extracted from the China Migrants Dynamic Survey conducted in 31 provincial level administrative divisions across China in 2017. SPSS 25.0 was used in data analyses.

  Results  Among all the participants, only 29.2% (1 672) reported having received mental health education during past one year in villages/communities and the reported proportions were 29.2%, 30.5%, 29.9%, and 24.2% in the participants aged 60 – 64, 65 – 69, 70 – 74, and ≥ 75 years, respectively. The major patterns of the mental health education were via publicity materials (papers, films and television programs), billboards/electronic displays, public health consultation, and health knowledge lectures, which were reported by 90.1%, 82.0%, 70.0%, and 67.5% of the 1 672 health education receivers; other two patterns reported by 48.8% and 39.4% of the receivers were via personalized face-to-face consultation and via community short message service/WeChat/networks. The results of binary logistic regression analysis showed that the participants with following characteristics were more willing to receive mental health education service: immigrating to regions in western China, having personal health records being established, being aware of national basic public health service, with a good self-rated health, with a strong willingness to integrate into local social environment, and having a high community involvement; while, aged 75 years and above, with the education of primary school or below, with difficulties in local region, experiencing the migration for more than 10 years, and migrating due to the migration of family members such as the elderly or children to be cared were less likely to receive mental health education.

  Conclusion  In elderly migrant population in China, the acceptance of mental health education was at a relatively low level and mainly influenced by age, education, whether having difficulties in local region, self-rated health, duration of migration, reasons for migration, inflow region, the awareness about national basic public health services, the establishment of personal health record, community involvement, and the willingness to be assimilated into local social environment.