Objective To analyse the characteristics of nutritional status,and association with poverty,and to provide scientific basis for improving children's nutritional status in poverty-stricken areas. Methods 0~17 years-old children in 4 800 rural families of four impoverished areas were selected as this subjects,and 4 621 families completed the interview,the completion rate was 96.3%.Multi-stage stratified cluster sampling was applied and SPSS18.0 was adopted for data processing and analysis. Results The incidence rate of growth retardation and emaciation rate was 8.5%,and anemia prevalence rate was as high as 33.3% among underprivileged children.Safe drinking water and sanitation deprivation,anemia and emaciation were closely related to growth retardation in children.Economic and education deprivation,health and information deprivation,growth retardation and anemia were related to emaciation in children.All poverty except of safe drinking water was related to anemia in children (P<0.05). Conclusion The children's nutritional status is not optimistic in poor regions,and which is closely related to all dimensions of poverty,the key measures of improve children's nutritional status is to relieve poverty.