Objective To study the epidemiological characteristics of family cancer history in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma in Dongguan city. Methods A total of 240 patients with nasopharyngeal cancer treated in our hospital from January 2017 to January 2021 were selected for the investigation of family cancer history. The families of the patients were determined respectively, and the family cancer history of the first, second and third relatives was obtained. The incidence, population distribution and incidence factors were investigated and analyzed. Results A total of 7 918 primary, secondary and tertiary relatives of 240 cases were inquired. 188 cases were found to have cancer, including 118 cases of nasopharyngeal cancer and 70 cases of non-nasopharyngeal cancer (10 cases of digestive tract cancer, 18 cases of breast cancer, 20 cases of lymphoma and 22 cases of lung cancer). The incidence of familial cancer was higher in males (127/240) than in females (79/188). The main pathological type of family cancer was squamous cell carcinoma (109/188), accounting for 57.98%. Most of the patients in family cancer group were farmers (128/188), accounting for 68.09%; There was no significant difference in the prevalence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma and non-nasopharyngeal carcinoma in relatives of different genders (χ²=0.11, χ²=0.23, P>0.05). The incidence of cancer in first-degree relatives of different genders was higher than that in second-degree relatives, and the differences were statistically significant (χ²=4.26, χ²=5.62, P<0.05). The peak age of nasopharyngeal carcinoma family cancer patients was 40 to 49 years old group (39.36%). The familial cancer group regular intake of salted fish (>2 times per week), Epstein-Barr virus infection was significantly higher than that of the familial non-cancer group, the difference was statistically significant (χ²=6.57, χ²=10.59, P<0.05). Conclusions The incidence of cancer and nasopharyngeal cancer in first-degree relatives is significantly higher than that in second-level and third-level relatives. The occurrence of nasopharyngeal cancer is the result of the combined action of genetic factors and environmental factors. It is necessary to carry out health education for the families of nasopharyngeal cancer, Avoid eating and curing foods, and actively improve production and living environment, so as to reduce the incidence rate of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.