Objective To provide scientific basis for improving the nutrition and health status of Chinese students， the status of main food intake and its influencing factors of primary school students in a poverty-alleviation county in central China were analyzed.Methods A total of 674 students from grade two to grade four were randomly selected from 2 primary schools in urban and rural areas of a poverty-alleviation county in central China. The frequency of major food intake， family and personal status of 674 students were collected by student questionnaire.Results Only 12.9% of the students in poverty-alleviation county ate meat more than once per day， 18.5% of the students consumed more than one egg per day， 8.2% of the students consumed 1 package or more of dairy products per day， 9.8% of the students consumed soy products once or more per day， 13.4% of the students ate more than 1 time of fruit per day， and 22.8% of the students ate more than 3 kinds of vegetables per day. The intake frequencies of eggs and fruits were significantly different among different education levels of their mothers（P<0.05）. The intake frequencies of dairy products， soy products， fruits and vegetables were significantly different between urban and rural areas （P<0.05）. The results of multivariate analysis showed that urban students were more likely to eat meat 4 or more times per week （OR=2.618， 95%CI： 1.364~5.027， P<0.05）， and students whose mothers had a high school education or above were more likely to eat eggs 4 or more times per week （OR=2.508， 95%CI： 1.314~4.784， P<0.05）.Conclusion The intake of meat， eggs and milk was insufficient for primary school students in a poverty-alleviation county in China， especially in rural areas， and the intake frequency were related to the education level of mothers. Measures should be taken to provide guidance on proper diet for primary school students and their mothers.