Objective To explore the competitive situation of scientific and technological innovation in the field of healthcare-associated infection (HAI) control in China, and reveal the trend and direction of technology as well as product research and development in this field, promote scientific and technological innovation in the field of HAI prevention and control. Methods Based on the authoritative patent retrieval database and industrial think tank data, the patent technologies in the field of HAI prevention and control in China from 2012 to 2021 as well as the competitive situation of innovative products of enterprises with a certain scale are analyzed by using a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods. Results From 2012 to 2021, a total of 22 475 patents in the field of HAI control were applied in China, including 6 320 (28.12%) invention patents and 16 155 (71.88%) utility model patents. Invention patents and utility model patents in 2021 increased by 5.1 times and 2.6 times compared with 2012, but the overall effective rate of invention patents was only 16.72%. The company and individual invention patent holding rates were 44.17% and 34.57% respectively, and the utility model patent holding rates of universities and hospitals were 43.08% and 24.42% respectively; the percentage of invention and utility model patents of methods or devices for sterilization or disinfection of materials or objects were 42.52% and 45.47% respectively; the layout of overseas market is less than 1%; the scale of innovative product development in recent years is only 10 million RMB level. Conclusion The competitiveness of scientific and technological innovation in the field of HAI control needs to be strengthened, it is necessary to promote the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, strengthen the construction of infection control disciplines, promote the transformation of innovative applications, and improve the refinement and intelligence level of scientific and technological innovation achievements.