Objective To identify the epidemiological characteristics of nontyphoid Salmonella infection in Shanghai, and provide scientific basis for the prevention and control. Methods The descriptive epidemiological method was used to analyze the epidemiological information of the collected diarrhea cases and the nontyphoid Salmonella test result from 26 foodborne disease surveillance sentinel hospitals in Shanghai. Results A total of 5 580 infectious diarrhea cases and specimens were enrolled. The positive detection rate of nontyphoid Salmonella was 4.19% (234/5 580). The serotypes were mainly Salmonella Enteritidis and Salmonella Typhimurium. There was no difference in the positive detection rate of nontyphoid Salmonella among different genders, ages and occupations. Spring and summer were the seasons when nontyphoid Salmonella positive detection rate was high. The positive rate of nontyphoid Salmonella in patients with fever or watery stool was significantly higher than in patients without fever or waterless stool. The positive rate of nontyphoid Salmonella was relatively high among the patients from small and medium-sized catering service and canteen. Conclusion Salmonella Enteritidis and Salmonella Typhimurium were the main serotypes of nontyphoid Salmonella in Shanghai, and the peak of nontyphoid Salmonella infection occured in spring and summer. The authorities should strengthen the supervision and management of catering service and canteen.