Objective   To examine situations and influencing factors of the knowledge about and the intention to receive prophylactic human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine among child-bearing women in mainland China.

  Methods  The information on 13 914 women aged ≤ 45 years were extracted from five population-based surveys in women on HPV vaccination intention conducted across mainland China between 2009 and 2016. Pooled analysis was performed on the data collected.

  Results   Of all the participants, only 3 353 (24.12%) had heard of HPV vaccine and 10 592 (76.12%) reported the willingness to receive HPV vaccine. Main reasons for the participants not having the vaccination intention included without perceived-risk of developing HPV-related diseases (reported by 52.73% of the participants), the vaccine being not yet widely vaccinated (34.98%), and wearing about the vaccine′s effectiveness (31.72%) and safety (30.30%). Among the participants with valid responses, only 3 094 (24.14%) and 1 628 (12.72%) were willing to pay ≥ 1 000 RMB yuan/three doses for imported and domestic HPV vaccines; but 2 254 (17.59%) and 3 528 (27.56%) were willing to pay < 100 RMB yuan/three doses for imported and domestic HPV vaccine, respectively.

  Conclusion  For the period of 2009 – 2016, the knowledge about HPV vaccine was at a low level but the willingness to receive the vaccine was high among child-bearing women in mainland China. The results suggest that increasing HPV vaccine related health education in the public and reducing the price of HPV vaccines are necessary for the promotion and popularization of HPV vaccination in China.