Background   Musculoskeletal injury (MSKI) ranks the first in the spectrum of military training injuries, and MSKI has become a major medical problem faced by militaries in the world. However, the epidemiological support for military training MSKI of recruits in our army is insufficient.

  Objective   To investigate the status, characteristics and related factors of military training-induced MSKI in recruits.

  Methods   By convenience sampling method, 1515 recruits in 2020 were investigated with the Military Training Injury Epidemiology Questionnaire.

  Results   The incidence of MSKI among recruits in 2020 was 34.33%. The main injuries were mild strain and sprain (410/504, 81.35%), and the usual injured part were lower limbs (548/1013, 54.10%), especially knees, waists, feet, ankles and shoulders, physical training was the main subject that caused injury (432/718, 60.17%). By multivariate regression analysis, the recruits with a history of previous injuries (OR=5.093, 95%CI:3.112-8.336, P<0.001) and high degree of fatigue (compared with very easy: easy,OR=1.630, 95%CI:1.107-2.400; a little tired, OR=1.862, 95%CI:1.264-2.742; tired, OR=1.939, 95%CI:1.327-2.832; very tired, OR=2.185, 95%CI:1.114-4.287) had a higher incidence of MSKI, the recruits with high education level (compared with technical secondary school or below: college, OR=0.553, 95%CI:0.312-0.980; bachelor degree or above, OR=0.478, 95%CI:0.275-0.830; sports enthusiasts, OR=0.523, 95%CI:0.310-0.885) had a lower incidence of MSKI.

  Conclusion   Sprains and strains of the lower limbs are common in MSKI of recruits. We find that previous injury history, fatigue and education level are the influencing factors of MSKI in recruits.