Abstract:Objective To investigate the level of mental health literacy among residents in Jiaxing City, Zhejiang Province, so as to provide insights into implementation of mental health education and improvements of the quality of mental health services. Methods A total of 2 248 permanent residents at ages of 18 years and older were sampled using a multi-stage stratified random sampling method from 3 streets (townships) in Jiaxing City. Residents' demographics were collected using self-designed questionnaires, and the mental health literacy was investigated using the Mental Health Literacy Questionnaire. Factors affecting the achievement of the target of mental health literacy were identified among residents using a multivariable logistic regression model. Results A total of 2 248 questionnaires were allocated and 2 172 valid questionnaires were recovered, with an effective recovery rate of 96.62%. The respondents included 1 075 men (49.49%) and 1 097 women (50.51%). There were 623 respondents that met the target of the mental health literacy (28.68%). Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed a higher possibility of achieving the target of mental health literacy levels among women than among men (OR=1.282, 95%CI: 1.047-1.570), among unmarried residents (OR=1.685, 95%CI: 1.018-2.788) than among married residents, among residents with educational levels of junior high school (OR=1.689, 95%CI: 1.168-2.441), high school/vocational high school/technical secondary school (OR=2.420, 95%CI: 1.601-3.658) and college or above (OR=3.543, 95%CI: 2.252-5.574) than among residents with an educational level of primary and below, among students (OR=2.572, 95%CI: 1.013-6.527), medical personnel (OR=3.330, 95%CI: 2.029-5.467), teachers (OR=2.909, 95%CI: 1.202-7.040), freelance/self-employed staff (OR=1.519, 95%CI: 1.100-2.098) and other professional technical personnel (OR=1.529, 95%CI: 1.012-2.310) than among workers. Conclusion The proportion of mental health literacy levels meeting the target is high among residents in Jiaxing City, and gender, educational level, occupation and marital status are factors affecting mental health literacy levels.