Objective To investigate the incidence and risk factors of neonatal asphyxia in Hubei Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture. Methods Live born infants, including those diagnosed with neonatal asphyxia, were recruited from 16 different hospitals in Hubei Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture from January to December of 2016. The 16 hospitals included four grade A tertiary hospitals (three general hospitals and one traditional Chinese medicine hospital) and 12 grade A secondary hospitals (eight general hospitals, one maternal and child health hospital and three traditional Chinese medicine hospitals). A retrospective investigation was conducted using questionnaire to analyze the basic information, perinatal risk factors and prognosis of those infants. Chi-square test was used for statistical analysis. Results Among 22 294 recruited live born infants, 733 (3.29%) were diagnosed with neonatal asphyxia on discharge, including 627 (85.54%) mild cases and 106 (14.46%) severe cases. And neonatal asphyxia resulted in deaths of 27 cases (3.68%). The risk factors for neonatal asphyxia included multiple pregnancy, pregnancy conceived with assisted reproductive technology, premature infant, low birth weight infant, fetal malposition, congenital malformation, male infant, born during transfer, mother of Tujia nationality, low educational level (primary school or lower), living in rural area, the number of antenatal visits ≤3, history of early threatened abortion, anemia in pregnancy, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, chorioamnionitis, abnormal pregnancy history and abnormality of umbilical cord, amniotic fluid or placenta. Conclusions The incidence of neonatal asphyxia in Enshi area is obviously higher than the national average. The main risk factors for neonatal asphyxia in this area are related to maternal background and the living condition of the mother during pregnancy, delivery as well as the newborn at birth.