Abstract: Objectives The present study was designed to analyze characteristics and factors of suicide fatality in Mei County of Shanxl Province so as to provide relevant suggestions for local measures for prevention arid reduction of suicide harms Methods Among the suicide fatality cases from March，1998 to December，1999 in Mei county．36 suicide fatality cases were sampled for the invesrigafion and analysis．Results From 1991 to 2000，the average suicide fatality rate in Mei County was 22.5／lakh．The male and female suicide fatality rates were 15.8／lakh and 27.5／lakh respectiveLy，which meant that the female suicide fatality rate were twice the male．From the gender point of view, the female suicide fatality rate was higher than the male both in Mei county and all over the eountry Conelusion The propaganda and education should be strengthened．The knowledge of science and coucept of legal system should be disseminated，and the administration of pesticides (including rat poison)in rural areas should be improved．So that the suicide fatalffy rate may be decreased.