Objective   To evaluate the malnutrition status of children and understand factors affecting growth in order to look for the intervention methods for improving the children's nutrition in the areas.

  Methods   The 7 302 pair children under 3 years old and their mothers were investigated by using stratified random sampling in 40 counties in the western areas of China.Databases were set up, and all the data logically checked by EPI6.0 software.All the data were input with duplication method.All data were analyzed by SPSS10.0 software.

  Results   The height and weight of children in the 40 counties were lower than that in the nine-city standard of China in 1995 and WHO standard.Main malnutrition of children were stunting and underweight(prevalence were 24.0% and 22.4%, respectively).Many factors were associated with children's malnutrition, viz.feeding pattern, age of children, diarrhea, family income, and the frequency of adding eggs and meat.

  Conclusion   The nutritions status of local children could be improved by popularizing knowledge of scientific feeding, invreasing the protein food and decreasing the prevalence of common diseases.