Objective:To explore the effects of health education on the knowledge and awareness of hypertension in primary and secondary school students.Methods:Twenty seven primary and secondary schools in Emin County of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region were selected in 2014 as study sites; among which 24 schools were randomly assigned as the intervention group and 3 schools were assigned as control group. According to the education methods (classroom teaching, publicity manual, hypertension class reports and the combination of the three) and the frequency of education (1, 2, 3 times per semester), the intervention group were further randomly divided into 12 subgroups with 2 schools in each group. The intervention study was carried out for 3 years.Results:A total 13 402 students were involved in the study, and there were 11 333 students in the intervention group and 2 069 students in the control group. The awareness rates of hypertension concept [41.8% (4 738/11 333) vs. 24.6% (511/2 069), χ 2=154.86, P<0.01], the adverse consequences of hypertension [85.8% (9 735/11 333) vs. 75.4% (1 561/2 069),χ 2=25.80, P<0.01], the hypertension risk factors [84.3% (9 564/11 333) vs. 72.5%(1 501/2 069), χ 2=12.83, P<0.01), and the health behaviors after hypertension [84.9% (9 629/11 333) vs. 67.7%(1 402/2 069), χ 2=187.24, P<0.01] in intervention group were all significantly higher than those in control group. The stratified analysis showed that among students in elementary school, junior high school and high school, there were significant differences in the awareness rate of adverse consequences [94.4% (2 019/2 138) vs. 81.6% (3 829/4 690), 86.2% (3 887/4 505), χ 2=199.31, P<0.01], awareness rate of risk factor [86.8% (1 857/2 138) vs.86.1% (4 038/4 690), 81.4% (3 669/4 505) , χ 2=49.96, P<0.01); and awareness rate of correct behavior [89.9% (1 923/2 138) vs. 86.1% (4 037/4 690), 81.4% (3 669/4 505) χ 2=89.77, P<0.01]. Up to 95.9% (10 868/11 333) students in the intervention group liked the hypertension health education. Conclusion:Based on the school health education curriculum, the intervention measures of hypertension health education are effective, and the awareness rate of hypertension related knowledge among senior high school students is significantly improved.