Abstract: Objective To understand the impact of the first five death causes on the life expectancy of residents in Honghe county, Yunnan province, in 2011 and provide scientific evidence for the prevention and control of the diseases. Methods The leading causes of death and life lost were analyzed with the indicators of mortality, proportion of death causes, potential years of life lost (PYLL), rate of potential years of life lost (rate of PYLL) and average years of life lost (AYLL). Results The average life expectancy was 73.12 and the mortality was 642.49/lakh in residents in Honghe county in 2011. The mortality in males was higher than in females. The first five leading causes of death were cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, digestive disease, injury/poisoning and cancer. The overall PYLL was 16 329 years in total population, the AYLL was 20.39 years per person, and the rate of PYLL was 58.38%. The first five diseases with large rates of PYLL were circulatory disease, injury/poisoning, respiratory diseases, digestive disease and cancer. Conclusion Chronic disease and injury were the major death causes among the residents in Honghe in 2011. Injury and poisoning were the major death causes in young adults. It is necessary to strengthen the comprehensive prevention and control of chronic non communicable diseases.