Objective To investigate the prevalence of hospital-acquired infections (HAI) in the hospitals of Sichuan Province in 2011, and to provide scientific basis for formulating and implementing infection control measures in accordance with the actual situation. Methods Bedside investigation and investigation of medical records were carried out to obtain the point prevalence of HAI on the day of June 25, 2011 among the inpatients in the 23 hospitals from Sichuan Province. Results The 1-day prevalence of HAI was 2.5% among the 27 144 inpatients. The prevalence was higher in the upper first-class general hospitals (2.7%) than the middle first-class hospitals (1.8%) and upper first-class specialized hospitals (1.0%, P<0.05). The main infection site was lower respiratory tract, accounting for 50.2% of all the HAI. Gram-negative bacilli were the main isolated pathogens. Factors such as gender, age, underlying diseases (diabetes, hypertension, respiratory failure, renal insufficiency, cardiac insufficiency, tumor and hematologic diseases), use of hormones, coma and invasive operation were related to HAI. Conclusion Special attentions should be paid to the HAI types, such as lower respiratory tract infection, surgical site infection and urinary tract infection, and targeted surveillance should be carried out. This investigation is helpful to grasp the basic situation of HAI in hospitals from Sichuan Province and of great significance for improving the work of infection control in the region.