Abstract: Objective To understand the epidemiological characteristics of acute bacterial meningitis(ABM) in Shandong province. through sentinel surveillance system and by etiological analysis Methods Epidemiological survey was conducted among the ABM cases in sentinel hospitals from 2006 to 2012. Serum and cerebrospinal fluid(CSF) specimens were collected from the cases for bacterial culture, latex agglutination and real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction(real-time PCR). Data were analyzed with software EPI Info 2003 and SPSS 13.0. Results A total 309 ABM cases were reported from 2006 to 2012. The male to female ratio of the cases was 1.81:1. Most ABM cases were children, students and farmers. Sixty-one ABM cases were laboratory confirmed, 32 were infections of Neisseria meningitides(Nm) including 2 serogroup B infections, 19 serogroup C infections, 2 serogroup W135 infections and 9 unspecified infections, 29 were infections of Streptococcus pneumoniae(Sp). Twenty four Nm cases(75.00%) were aged 7-14 years. The incidence peak was during April-May. The majority of Sp cases were infants and aged people(18, 62.07%). No cases infected with Haemophilus influenzae were detected. Up to 87.05 % of the ABM cases were cured or had good prognosis. The disease courses of laboratory confirmed ABM cases were shorter than those of non-laboratory confirmed cases. Conclusion Neisseria meningitidis was the major pathogen causing ABM in sentinel hospitals in Shandong, followed by Streptococcus pneumoniae. According to surveillance data, it is necessary to revise the strategy of ABM prevention and control and further strengthen pathogen detection.