OBJECTIVETo study the mortality of children under five and the causes of death together with related trend of dynamics, from 2001 to 2013 in Sichuan province.

METHODSUsing the Children Death Monitoring Network under five in Sichuan province to obtain basic data. Descriptive statistics and chi-square were used to describe the mortalities in children and infants as well as the causes of death, in both rural and urban areas of Sichuan province.

RESULTSIn Sichuan province, the mortality of children under five decreased from 35.30‰ in 2001 to 11.77‰ in 2013. In 2013, mortality in the rural areas was 2.37 times more than that in the urban area. The proportion of neonatal deaths among the mortality in children under five was 44.72%. Pneumonia, congenital heart diseases and premature or low birth weigh were the top three causes of death for children under five. Among them, the top three causes of death for urban area were congenital heart disease, drowning, and premature or low birth weight/birth asphyxia. Meanwhile, the top three causes of death in rural areas were pneumonia, premature birth/low birth weight and birth asphyxia. Overall, the mortality rates of birth asphyxia, pneumonia and low birth weight gradually decreasd but drowning, diarrhea and traffic accidents fluctuated.

CONCLUSIONThe mortality of children under five in Sichuan province was 13‰, which had already met the goal set for the year 2020. However, reducing the mortality in rural areas, narrowing the gap between urban and rural areas seemed the main part of the future endeavor while focus of prevention should be adjusted according to the causes of death.