Abstract: Objective To investigate the incidence of hypertension among habitants in Shanghai and its risk factors to give evidence to prevent and control hypertension.Methods A survey was conducted to investigate hypertension and to measure the blood pressure in 35-74 aged habitants in two communities in Shanghai.The chisquare test and unconditional logistic regression were performed.Results The incidences of hypertension in men and in women were 31.7% and 27.9%,respectively,and increased along with age.Age,body mass index,mother's hypertension history,father's hypertension history,sex,occupation,education level,drinking and marital status entered the multiple unconditional logistic regression model.There was a positive relationship between the incidence of hypertension and the body mass index.The ORs of mother's hypertension history,father's hypertension history and drinking were 2.19(95%CI 2.05-2.34),2.13(95%CI 2.00-2.28)and 1.24 (95%CI1.14-1.36),respectively.Conclusion Hypertension was the result of the interaction between inheritance and environment and the strategy to prevent and control hypenension should be comprehensive.