Abstract: Objective To study the prevalence of smoking among residents in Guangdong province,so as to provide the evidence for effective-tobacoo-control policy.Methods Stratified cluster sampling was employed and 10 811 residents in Heyuan,Meizhou,Shenzhen,Zhanjiang,Chaoyang,Guangzhou,Qingyuan,Shaoguan were investig ated in 2006.Results The total smoking rate was 21.4%,smoking was related to gender,the degree of education,martial status,age and occuption,the main reasons for smoking were social needs and others influence.Conclusion Health educatio n and smoking prohibition in public places should be addressed to reduce the smoking rate.