ObjectiveTo understand characteristics and research status of literatures related to surgical site infection(SSI) in China.MethodsLiteratures about SSI published between January 2000 and March 2016 were retrieved from China National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI), VIP database, Vanfang Database, and China Biology Medicine(CBM) database. Bibliometric method was adopted to analyze external and internal characteristics of literatures.ResultsA total of 1 036 articles in Chinese were included, 40（3.86%）, 189（18.24%）,and 807（77.90%）were published in 2000-2005，2006-2010，and the first quarter of 2011-2016 respectively.  Articles were mainly published in Chinese Journal of Nosocomiology（n=226, 21.81%）, Chinese Journal of Infection Control(n=53，5.12%）, and Chinese Journal of Disinfection（n=27, 2.61%）. The research fields included risk factors(n=277, 26.74%), infection rates (n=261, 25.19%)， antimicrobial application (n=208, 20.08%), and pathogens (n=153, 14.77%); the infection rates were higher in general surgery and neurosurgery, the main pathogens were Escherichia coli，Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, risk factors mainly included the types of incision，duration of surgery, diabetes, age, and body mass index.ConclusionIn recent years，articles about SSI research increases significantly，research in etiology and epidemiology has gained substantial achievement, but in the intervention and economics is still weak, suggesting that SSI research in economics，risk management，and behavioral aspects should be strengthened.