Objective To provide the scientific basis for the prevention and control of diarrheagenic Escherichia coli （DEC） infection， the epidemiological characteristics of DEC infection in Shanghai was identified.Methods The epidemiological information of the collected diarrhea cases and the DEC test results from 30 foodborne disease surveillance sentinel hospitals in Shanghai from 2018 to 2020 were analyzed by the descriptive epidemiological methods.Results According to the result of 13 672 infectious diarrhea cases and specimens， the positive rate of DEC was 5.71% （781/13 672）， mainly ETEC and EAEC. The highest positive rate of DEC was often associated with child below the age of 7 and the farmers， and the highest positive rate of DEC was occurred between July and September. Compared with other patients， the positive rate of DEC in patients with fever and no vomiting or diarrhea 3-9 times/d was significantly higher. The positive rate of DEC was relatively high in cases with suspected food category of fruit and its products.Conclusion ETEC and EAEC were the main virulence genotyping of DEC in Shanghai， and the peak of DEC infection occurred in summer. Specific clinical symptoms could play as indications for clinical diagnosis and treatment. The supervision and management of catering service industry and street food should be improved， and the publicity and training of public food safety awareness and good food safety habits should be strengthened.