Abstract: Objective To understand the occurrence of negative life events in medical students for implementing effective intervention.Methods Students at their 1st-3rd year of study in Shenyang Medical College were selected with stratified cluster sampling and surveyed using Adolescent Self-Rating Life Events Check List.Results The prevalences of various negative life events were 2.9%-70.5% among 1 026 respondents.The top five events for the respondents were the failure or unsatisfactory result of examination,the burden of study,to be misunderstood by others,significant change in living habit,and seperation with the family for a long time.The score for interpersonal relationship,study pressure,having been punished,loss,and health adaption was 7.78±2.10,8.76±2.91,8.48±2.42,4.29±1.99,and 5.60±1.74,respectively.The scores of study pressure,loss,and health adaption were different significantly betw een the respondents from different tow ns(P< 0.05).The scores of loss and interpersonal relationship were different significantly betw een the respondents in different grades (P< 0.05).Conclusion The negative life event is prevalent among medical students and there are differences in the prevalence of negative life events among different groups of medical students.