Abstract: ObjectiveTo analyze the relationship between infant feeding index and nutritional status in Nanshan District of Shenzhen, and to explore the effect of feeding index scoring system in evaluating the nutritional status of infants.MethodsMultistage random sampling method was used to select infants aged 0-36 months in Nanshan District, Shenzhen City. The infant basic information and food consumption were obtained by 24-hour retrospective survey. Based on the standard for feeding index score recommended by China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, a standard for feeding index score for the infants aged 0-36 months in Shenzhen City was formulated. According to the standards recommended by WHO, the height for age Z score (HAZ), weight for age Z score (WAZ) and weight for height Z score (WHZ) of the infants were calculated to analyze the correlation between feeding index and Z scores.ResultsA total of 474 infants aged 0-36 months were surveyed and their total feeding index was (6.51±3.09). The feeding indices for infants aged 0-6, 7-9, 10-12, and 13-36 months were (1.48 ±0.54), (6.85±1.94), (7.88±2.11), and (8.08±1.61), and accordingly, the qualified feeding index rates were 50.0%, 39.0%, 65.9%, and 68.4%, respectively. The differences in the feeding indices and qualified feeding index rates were statistically significant between different age groups (bothP<0.01), but not significant between genders or different education levels of parents (allP>0.05). A positive correlation was observed between feeding index and HAZ for infants aged 10-12 months (r=0.355,P<0.05). The boys’feeding index was associated with WHZ (r=0.109,P<0.05), and the girls’ feeding index was associated with HAZ (r=0.136,P< 0.01) and WHZ (r=0.125,P<0.05). ConclusionThe nutritional status of infants in Nanshan District, Shenzhen City can be reflected preliminarily by the feeding index. The nutritional status of infants can be improved by regulating the feeding behavior.