Abstract: Objective To understand the epidemiological characteristics of hand foot and mouth disease (HFMD) in Jilin Province from 2008 to 2012. Methods Descriptive epidemiological analysis was conducted on the incidence data of HFMD in Jilin from 2008 to 2012 collected from national disease reporting information system. Results A total of 95 907 HFMD cases were reported in Jilin during this period. The incidence of HFMD reached its highest rate of 105.27/lakh in 2010, then decreased. The annual incidence peak was during June-August. The incidence rate in Tonghua was highest (108.11/lakh). The male to female ratio of the cases was 1.48：1. Up to 79.72% of the cases were children under 5 years old and 60.94% were children outside child care settings. In 2008 and 2011, EV71 positive samples accounted for 60% of the total samples detected. Conclusion HFMD had obvious seasonality in Jilin. The boys aged 5 years or outside child care settings were mostly affected. The predominant pathogen varied with year.