Objective  To explore the prevalence and indoor environment risk factors of pneumonia among preschool children in Urumqi city of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region for providing evidences to the prevention of the disease.

  Methods  Using stratified random cluster sampling, we recruited 10 000 children aged 2 – 7 years in 60 kindergartens in 6 districts of Urumqi city. Then we conducted a self-administered survey among the parents of the selected children during August 2019 using a self-designed questionnaire based on the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) and Dampness in Buildings and Health (DBH).

  Results  Among 8 153 children with valid information provided by their parents, the prevalence of doctor-diagnosed pneumonia was 29.5%. Multivariate logistic regression results revealed that the children exposed to following indoor conditions were more likely to have pneumonia: home decoration or installation of new furniture during the period from maternal pregnancy to age of one year (odds ratio OR = 1.18, 95% confidence interval 95% CI: 1.04 – 1.35), emergence of cockroaches, flies or mosquitoes at home (OR = 1.69, 95% CI: 1.49 – 1.91), plantation of flowering plants in the house since children′s birth (OR = 1.19, 95% CI: 1.07 – 1.32), keeping pets at home since children′s birth (OR = 1.31, 95% CI: 1.15 – 1.49), and exposed to passive smoking at home (OR = 1.31, 95% CI: 1.19 – 1.45).

  Conclusion  Pneumonia prevalence is relatively high and influenced by several indoor environment risk factors among preschool children in Urumqi city. The results suggest that some indoor conditions need to be improved for pneumonia prevention in the children.