Objective To understand the incidence of birth defects,the major types and trends of birth defects in Hebei. Methods By using the retrospective analysis,1 202 291 birth defects monitoring data of perinatal fetus were analyzed,from 2001 to 2012 in Hebei Provence. Results 1)During past 12 years,the incidence of birth defects was on the increase,from 72.76/10⁴ in 2001 to 103.44/10⁴ in 2012,up by 42.17%.2)The orders of major birth defects were congenital heart disease,polydactylism,cleft lip with or without cleft palate,deformity of external ear,congenital hydrocephalus,and neural tube defects.3)There were differences between rural and urban areas,also existed differences between male and female (P<0.01).That male was significantly higher than female and urban areas was significantly higher than rural areas(all P<0.01).4)Birth defects were associated with the mother's age,the lowest incidence of birth defects was occurred in 25~30 years old. Conclusions The trend in the incidence of birth defects is rising up in these years,the low rate of pre-marital medical checks and prenatal screening,elderly and young pregnant woman and environmental factors are major reasons to lead rising up incidence of birth defects.