Abstract: Objective: To investigate the status of health information literacy of inpatients and its influencing factors, and analyze its medical health education needs. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 447 inpatients with general data questionnaire, Health Information Literacy Self-Rating Scale and Medical Health Education Demand Questionnaire from February to March 2023 by convenience sampling method. Multiple linear regression was used to analyze the influencing factors of health information literacy, and multiple response chi-square goodness-of-fit test and cross-tabular chi-square test were used to analyze the differences in medical health education needs. Results: The total score of health information literacy of inpatients was 103.58±18.06, with the highest scoring rate of health cognition dimension and the lowest scoring rate of health information acquisition dimension. The education level and duration of disease were the main influencing factors of health information literacy (P<0.05). Inpatients had a high demand for medical health education. Inpatients with different levels of health information literacy had different demands for medical health knowledge carriers, medical health education lectures, health knowledge push modes, health education service modes, and health education duration (P <0.05). Conclusion: Inpatients' health information literacy is at a medium level, and the demand for information-based medical health education is the main one. Medical staff need to pay attention to inpatients with low education level and long course of disease, and formulate personalized scheme according to different health information literacy levels of inpatients to carry out accurate health education.

Key words: internet; health information literacy; inpatient; health education