Objective To analyze the epidemiological characteristics of foodborne disease outbreaks in Suzhou City from 2017 to 2020,to understand the causes of the events,to master the risk factors of foodborne disease outbreaks,and to provide the basis for the prevention and control of foodborne disease outbreaks. Methods Descriptive epidemiological analysis was carried out based on the surveillance data of foodborne disease outbreaks in Suzhou City from 2017 to 2020 in the National Foodborne Disease Outbreak Surveillance System. Results From 2017 to 2020,a total of 71 foodborne disease outbreaks were reported in Suzhou City,with 519 cases and 1 death (caused by poisoning).The number of reported foodborne disease was higher from May to September,of which the August was the most (22.63%).The cause of 46.48% of the incidents was identified.More incidents were caused by chemical pathogenic factors and toadstools,accounting for 22.54% and 12.68% of the total incidents,respectively.The main occurrence site was the family,accounting for 59.15%.Of the 33 foodborne disease outbreaks identified,60.61% were caused by accidental ingestion and misuse. Conclusion Accidental ingestion and misuse were the main factors of the foodborne disease outbreak in Suzhou City.There was a high rate of outbreaks of foodborne illness with unknown causes.The epidemiological investigation and laboratory detection ability of the county-level centers for disease prevention and control should be improved.