Abstract: Objective To examine the structure,utilization and management of human resources in private hospitals in counties of Guizhou province.Methods Using simple random sampling,we surveyed 20 private and 50 public hospitals with the qualification for medical services assigned by medical security in 28 counties of Guizhou province between June and August 2015.World Management Survey and a self-designed questionnaire on basic condition,human resources,financial status,and management of the hospitals were adopted in the survey;comparative analysis was used to assess the status of private hospitals.Results For the 20 private hospitals,the total number of staff was 1 137 and that of medical personnel was 858;the ratio of doctors versus nurses was 1:1.1 and the ratio of number of beds versus nurses was 1:0.2.The structure of practicing categories of the private hospitals was significantly different from that of public hospitals (P<0.01) and the distribution of professional titles among the medical personnel in the private hospitals differed significantly from that of personnel in public hospitals.The personnel expenses accounted for 24.8% of total hospital revenue for all the private hospitals and the annual per capita wage was 48 000 RMB yuan.The number of practicing physician and licensed assistant doctors leaving the private hospitals were 70 and 69 and those entering the private hospitals were 50 and 58,respectively during the period from 2012 through 2014.Conclusion The structure of human resources is irrational and the human resources management is poor for the private hospitals in counties of Guizhou province and the situation may impede hiring of talent and limit long-term development of private hospitals.