Abstract: Objective To explore the breast self?examination（BSE）behavior and associated fac?tors among female college students，so as to provide reference for improving their prevention of breast can?cer and the awareness of breast health care. Methods Questionnaire survey was conducted among female college students in Suzhou City. The survey included the basic conditions of the participants，BSE，and health belief mode（l HBM）. The BSE of respondents was described and analyzed. Univariate and multivari?ate logistic regressions were used to analyze the influencing factors. Results A total of 1 098 female col?lege students in 5 colleges and universities in Suzhou were surveyed，with an average age of（19.90 ± 1.04）years. Of the participants，45.6% were in the first year at the university and 46.2% the second year； 98.9% were the Han nationality，60.3% specialized in the medical science，and 68.5% were from northern Jiangsu（in the north region of the Yangtze River within Jiangsu Province）. The HBM scores related to breast cancer screening，ranking from highest to lowest，were perceived severity，perceived benefit，per?ceived susceptibility，self ?efficacy，and perceived impairment. The scores of knowledge and risk factors for breast cancer were（3.52 ± 0.41）and（4.78 ± 2.27），respectively. Among the respondents，30.1%（330/1 098）had practiced BSE，and 8.8%（90/1 098）practiced monthly. Multivariate logistic regression showed that female students with higher scores of perceived susceptibility（OR＝1.188），self?efficacy（OR＝1.598），breast cancer knowledge derived from health care practitioners（OR＝1.754），female friends（OR＝1.898），and history of breast cancer among immediate family members（OR＝4.205）were more like?ly to practice BSE. Conclusion The BSE rate of female college students was low. Health education should be effectively carried out and breast cancer knowledge should be popularized to improve perceptual susceptibility，self?efficacy，breast cancer prevention consciousness and BSE rate.