Abstract: Objective To examine the cognition on cadaver donation and its related factors among residents in Henan province for the promotion of body donation.Methods Totally 1 108 urban and rural residents in 15 municipalities of Henan province were selected with stratified random sampling and surveyed with a self-designed questionnaire anonymously between December 2015 and March 2016.Results Of all the respondents,58.48% (648) and 21.93% (243) knew the purpose and procedure of cadaver donation;while only 19.31%(214)knew the authority agencies responsible for the implementation of cadaver donation and 17.6%(195)reported the willingness to donate their remains.Main influencing factors for cadaver donation reported by the respondents were traditional concepts (mentioned by 76.90%852 of the respondents),incomprehension on the issue (62.09%,688),disagreement of family members (48.01%,532),distrust in relevant authority agencies (38.63%,428),without the expectation of receiving social recognition (33.39%,370),and the imperfection of relevant laws and regulations (30.23%,335).The ratio of reporting the willingness of cadaver donation was significantly higher among the male respondents than among the female (χ²=6.488,P<0.05)and among the respondents aged 18-30 years and >60 years than among those at other ages (χ²=27.229,P<0.05);the willingness of cadaver donation was positively correlated with education level among the respondents (χ²=24.744,P<0.05).Conclusion Insufficient development of cadaver donation may restrict the improvement of medical and health service at some extent in China.