Objective To study the epidemiologic characteristics and the causes of food poisoning in Shenzhen from 2015 to 2017, and to provide scientific basis for food poisoning prevention strategy. Methods Descriptive epidemiological method were used to analyze all cases of food poisoning collected by Shenzhen foodborne disease outbreak monitoring system from 2015 to 2017. Results From 2015 to 2017,there were 37 reported food poisoning events, 329 cases were involved and 1 death case. Most food poisoning cases were reported from May to September, and there were 24 reported food poisoning events (64.86%, 24/37) occurred in that period of time with 223 cases (67.78%,223/329). There were 11 food poisoning events (29.73%, 11/37) occurred in restaurants with 124 cases (37.69%, 124/329), which was the most frequent location. The main cause of food poisoning was microbe, and most cases were caused by Salmonella. Conclusion Prevention and control strategy for food poisoning should focus on reducing microorganism food poisoning and places such as canteens and restaurants, strengthening the public education and supervision of food safety in between May and September.