Abstract: Objective To examine the prevalence of tobacco exposure and nicotine dependence among rural residents in Luoping county of Yunnan province.Methods Proportionate probability sampling(PPS) method was used to select a total of 4 611 residents aged 18 years and over from 12 townships for a questionnaire survey.Results In the study population,the overall prevalence rates of current smoking and secondhand smoke exposure(SHS) were 40.0%(1 844/4 611) and 27.8%(1 281/4 611),respectively.The males had an obviously higher prevalence of smoking than the females(79.2% vs.1.2%,P<0.01),whereas the females had an obviously higher prevalence of secondhand smoke exposure than the males(8.8% vs.46.6%,P<0.01).The rate of moderate dependence was 51.1%.Tobacco farmers and individuals with higher income(≥ 15 000 RMB yuan)had higher prevalence rates of current smoking and nicotine dependence(44.1% vs.44.5%) than non-tobacco farmers and individuals with lower income(37.4% vs.35.4%,P<0.01).The prevalence of SHS exposure decreased with educational level(P<0.01).Most tobacco users(93.0%) reported initiating smoking during the adolescence age between 15-24 years.Filtered cigarette smoking was the most popular form of tobacco smoking(63.6%),followed by hookah/water pipe(53.4%).During the 12 months before the survey,only 13.4% of smokers tried at least one attempt to quit smoking.In the previous seven days before the survey,97.0% of the smokers smoked in public places,and 88.5% smoked in workplaces.Conclusion Smoking and exposure to SHS are very prevalent among residents in Luoping county.Future tobacco control interventions should be focused much more on tobacco farmers,males and less educated individuals.