Objective To understand the characteristics of foodborne pesticide poisoning incidents in China from 2002 to 2017, and provide scientific basis for relevant departments to formulate prevention strategies for foodborne pesticide poisoning. Methods The domestic literature and national monitoring data were collected and sorted out, and the repeated incidents were excludedeliminated. The poisoning factors, foods with different causes and occurrence links were analyzed descriptively, and multi-dimensional attribution analysis on this basis was analyzed. Results The main cause of pesticide poisoning was organophosphorus pesticide poisoning (361 cases, accounting for 64.23%), followed by carbamate pesticides and herbicides. The main causes of food were vegetables, grains, and fruits, accounting for 33.45% (188/562) and 14.41%(81/562), 8.36%(47/562). The triggering facter link is mainly caused by excessive pesticide residues (200 cases, accounting for 35.59%). Conclusion Organophosphorus residues in vegetable were the main cause of food-borne pesticide poisoning. The management of pesticides (especially insecticides) should be strengthened, and pesticide safety education should be popularized to the public to minimize the risk of disease.