Objective To explore the relationship between birth weight and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS).Methods A population cohort study was carried out among 561 adults who were born in 1956,1960 or 1964 in Jinzhong City of Shanxi Province in August 2008 and October 2012.All the participants were required to fill in a questionnaire survey,take physical examinations and laboratory tests.Height,body weight,waist circumference,blood glucose,triglyceride and blood pressure were recorded.Their mothers were interviewed through phone call.Results One hundred individuals were finally qualified,including 42 men and 58 women.Thirty-nine and 41 MS patients were detected in 2008 and 2012,respectively.Prevalence of MS showed statistically significant difference among those born in 1964,1960 or 1956(2008:x2 =6.41,P ＜ 0.05; 2012:x2 =8.14,P ＜ 0.05).The average body weight of babies born in 1960 ((2.9 ± 0.6) kg) was significantly lower than those born in 1964 ((3.2 ±0.4) kg) or 1956 ((3.3 ±0.5) kg) (t values were 5.88 and 6.32,respectively; both P ＜0.05).The rate of poor nutrition during pregnancy was significantly higher in 1960 (68.9％) than in 1956 (28.6％) and 1964 (45.2％) (x2 values were 14.15 and 4.39,respectively; both P ＜ 0.05).In Pearson correlation analysis,coefficient of birth weight and post-MS was-0.106,the coefficient of nutrition during pregnancy and post-MS was -0.005.Conclusions The non-low birth weight children whose mothers had pregnancy malnutrition show higher prevalence of MS in adult.It could be important to carry out health management among children whose mother has experienced pregnancy malnutrition.