Objective To analyze the distribution and epidemiological characteristics of patients in pre-hospital emergency in Hohhot. Methods The data of 28 325 pre-hospital emergency patients in 7 first-aid stations in Hohhot from January 1st to December 31st in 2016 were analyzed retrospectively. The gender, age, call time, disease spectrum of patients served as investigation elements, the data were collected into Excel 2010 form, and statistical analysis was carried out. Results Among 28 325 pre-hospital emergency patients, there were 15 973 male (56.39%) and 12 352 female (43.61%), with the ratio of male to female of 1.29:1. The age of patients were 1 day-108 years, with the majority of patients aged 51-60 years, which accounting for 16.08% (4 554/28 325). The top 6 of diseases were trauma [33.10% (9 376/28 325)], neurological system diseases [16.81% (4 762/28 325)], circulatory system diseases [12.31% (3 486/28 325)], respiratory system diseases [7.62% (2 159/28 325)], digestive system diseases [5.68% (1 609/28 325)], acute poisoning [5.02% (1 422/28 325)]. The peak period of call for help was 09:00-11:00 (12.55%, 3 554/28 325), and 1 small peak occurred at 15:00-17:00 (11.22%, 3 179/28 325). The highest number of patients with pre-hospital care happened in summer (26.22%, 7 428/28 325), followed by autumn (24.94%, 7 065/28 325) and winter (24.83, 7 032/28 325), and the lowest in spring (24.01%, 6 800/28 325). The peak incidence of traumatic patients was in November (11.13%, 1 044/9 376), the most patients with nervous system diseases were found in October (9.97%, 475/4 762), and the most patients with circulatory system diseases were found in July (11.16%, 389/3 486). Conclusions The first aid patients in Hohhot were mainly suffered from diseases of trauma, nervous system and circulatory system, more men than women, most in 51-60 years old patients, and the summer was the peak season. Therefore, the establishment of trauma center in emergency department, strengthening the health education of high-risk groups and the primary prevention of patients with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, scientific and effective use of medical resources can improve the success rate of pre-hospital rescue.