Objective:To investigate clinical characteristics and potential risk factors of very preterm/very low birth weight infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD).Methods:A retrospective epidemiological study was performed in 341 neonates with birth weights<1 500 g or gestational age between 23 + 0 to 31 + 6 weeks, who were born in Foshan Women and Children Hospital and were admitted to neonatal intensive care units (NICU) within 24 hours of birth. These neonates were divided into non-BPD group and BPD group. Clinical characteristics and potential risk factors were comparatively analyzed between groups. Risk factors for BPD were identified by binary logistic regression analysis. Results:Among the total of 341 enrolled neonates, including 255 neonates without BPD and 86 neonates with BPD, the total incidence of BPD was 25.2%. The incidences of BPD in the infants with gestational age of <30 weeks, 30-32 weeks, and >32 weeks, as well as birth weight <1 000 g, 1 000-1 499 g, and ≥1 500 g were 43.8%(63/144), 15.1%(22/146), 2.0%(1/51), 80.0%(36/45), 20.2%(41/203), 9.7%(9/93), respectively. The gestational age, birth weight, the proportion of cesarean section, and extubation rate within 7 days were lower in BPD group than those in non-BPD group [(28.5±2.4)weeks vs (30.7±1.8)weeks, (1 087.9±312.8)g vs (1 418.4±247.9)g, 54.6%(47/86) vs 75.7%(193/255), 57.1%(44/77) vs 90.0%(108/120), all P<0.05]. Compared to the non-BPD group, the proportion of Apgar score of ≤7 points 5 minutes after birth [16.3%(14/86) vs 2.4%(6/255)], postnatal endotracheal intubation rate [62.8%(54/86) vs 27.4%(70/255)], volume of red blood cell transfusion ≥3 times [31.4%(27/86) vs 6.3%(16/255)], pulmonary surfactant (PS) utilization [82.6%(71/86) vs 44.7%(114/255)], rate of conventional mechanical ventilation [89.5%(77/86) vs 47.0%(120/255)], combined with hemodynamically significant patent ductus arteriosus (HsPDA) [34.9%(30/86) vs 8.2%(21/255)], diagnosed with neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (NRDS) [94.2%(81/86) vs 5.9%(15/255)], combined with clinically diagnosed sepsis [17.4%(15/86) vs 7.0%(18/255)], combined with ≥3 stage retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) [20.9%(18/86) vs 2.7%(7/255)] and mortality [10.5%(9/86) vs 0.8%(2/255)], length of conventional mechanical ventilation, duration of oxygen consumption, and length of hospital stays were higher in the BPD group (all P<0.05). The results of multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that small gestational age ( OR=1.285, 95% CI: 1.010-1.633), Apgar score ≤7 points within 5 min of birth ( OR=5.712, 95% CI: 1.411-23.115), mechanical ventilation duration ( OR=1.113, 95% CI: 1.043-1.188) and oxygen duration ( OR=1.139, 95% CI: 1.092-1.188) were high risk factors for the development of BPD, while heavier birth weight ( OR=0.996, 95% CI: 0.994-0.998) was protective factor for BPD. Conclusions:The smaller the gestational age and the lower the birth weight, the higher the incidence of BPD, Apgar score≤7 points within 5 min of birth, long conventional mechanical ventilation time, and long duration of oxygen consumption are the risk factors for BPD. Prevention of premature delivery, reduction of asphyxia at birth, reduction of endotracheal intubation and invasive ventilation duration, and reduction of oxygen use time are effective measures to reduce the occurrence of BPD.