Objective: To understand the drinking water quality of rural schools in Harbin in the past five years. Methods: According to the requirements of Harbin municipal drinking water sanitation monitoring program, rural schools were monitored for drinking water in dry and wet periods, water quality was tested according to the standard test method for drinking water (GB/T 5750—2006), and water quality was evaluated according to the standard for drinking water (GB 5749—2006). Results: A total of 320 water samples were tested from 2014 to 2018, and the qualified rate was 75.63% in 5 years, which showed an increasing trend( χ 2=10.81, P <0.05). The qualified rate of drinking water in treated rural schools (79.41%) was higher than that in untreated rural schools(68.97%)( χ 2=4.38, P <0.05). Conclusion The drinking water sanitation of rural schools in Harbin is not optimistic. Supervision and monitoring of drinking water in rural schools, construction and management of treatment and disinfection facilities should be strengthened to ensure the safety of drinking water for teachers and students.