Objective To evaluate rural environmental sanitation in Liaoning province, China, in the past five years, and to investigate the changing trend of rural environmental sanitation.

Methods A total of 1600 rural households were selected for surveillance in 16 counties, 90 townships, and 320 administrative villages in 14 cities of Liaoning province from 2014 to 2018, and the relevant information on rural environmental sanitation in Liaoning province were collected.

Results Planting industry was the main economic source of the surveillance sites, and there was a tendency of increase in the total hardening rate of roads in the villages for surveillance. Centralized water supply and well water were the main types of drinking water, and drinking boiled water was the main drinking habit. Landfilling was the main method for the disposal of domestic waste, and there was a serious phenomenon that domestic sewage was discharged randomly (χ²=16.27, P < 0.01). Household waste was mainly discarded in the dustbin or garbage pool. Rodent control tended to decrease in the surveillance sites within the five years (χ²=47.95, P < 0.01), and the detection rate of Ascaris eggs in soil gradually decreased year by year. The median concentrations(P₂₅, P₇₅) of lead, cadmium, and chromium in soil samples of the surveillance sites were 19.30(11.88, 29.88), 0.17(0.09, 0.28), and 48.66(32.40, 69.70)mg/kg, respectively, and the qualified rates were 97.6%, 83.4%, and 99.0%, respectively.

Conclusion There are still unsolved problems in rural environmental sanitation in Liaoning province, and it is urgent to strengthen the standardized disposal and discharge of rural domestic waste and sewage. Cadmium and lead pollution in soil should be taken seriously in the future.