Objective: To understand the current situation of infrastructure construction and sanitation practice of school canteens in China and to provide a reference for improving food safety in school canteen and sanitation management level. Methods: Stratified sampling method was adopted to select the surveyed schools. Information regarding school canteen infrastructure and sanitation practice was collected through questionnaires. Chi-square test was used to compare the difference in passing rate on the survey indices among different school types. Results: In environmental sanitation, 91.0% of the school canteen was rated as good and in personal hygiene, 92.8% of the employees were rated as good. The overall health level of urban schools was better than that of township schools, and non-boarding schools was better than that of boarding schools, with statistically significant differences(P<0.01). 67.1% of school canteens provided with independent food outlets while 98.7% of school canteens without independent food stores. The qualified rate of washing facilities in the dining area was 94.7%, and the qualified rate of distance between the canteen and the pollution source was 92.5%. Nearly all the employees held canteen catering service license (99.0%) and the health qualification certificate (99.5%). Most of the school canteens (98.7%) established the safety rules and regulations, including the food retention sample system. Nearly 61.5% schools initiated the principal meal program. Conclusion Sanitation management in the canteens of primary and secondary schools in China is generally satisfactory, with some canteens still fail to meet the standard requirements. More supervision from schools and relevant government departments (market supervision, health and education departments) is needed to provide students with a clean and heathy campus canteen.