Objective To understand the public’s ability to distinguish online food and drug rumors and false publicity， so as to prevent the spread of rumors and maintain social stability.Methods A questionnaire survey， by the method of random sampling， was conducted on the public’s ability to identify food and drug online rumors and false publicity in a minority autonomous prefecture of Guizhou Province in China.Results The identification ability of online rumors and false propaganda about food and drug on the local public was generally low. The adolescents in economically underdeveloped areas have weak ability to identify network rumors and false propaganda. Most of the public are rational in dealing with online food and drug safety information， they prefer to learn about information through the authoritative websites of national regulatory authorities， basically have the subjective consciousness of confirming the authenticity of information， but lack the action ability to dispel rumors.Conclusion The management of food and drug online rumors and false publicity should be strengthened. We should pay more attention on monitoring， systematic analysis， targeted and predictive governance and popular science activities.