Objective To establish a surveillance and early warning indicator system for key infectious diseases in Anhui Province, and standardize the construction and application of surveillance and early warning system. Methods A preliminary framework of the indicator system was developed through literature review and focus group discussions. Eighteen experts from within and outside Anhui Province were invited to conduct a Delphi expert consultation to score indicators at all levels. The final indicator system was determined based on screening criteria and expert suggestions, and the weights of each indicator were calculated by using the analytic hierarchy process. Results The positive coefficients of two rounds of expert consultations were both 100%, and the authority coefficients were both ≥0.91. The Kendall’s coordination coefficients of each index ranged from 0.249 to 0.377 (all P<0.05). The final monitoring and early warning indicator system consisted of 3 first-level indicators, 9 second-level indicators, and 43 third-level indicators. The indicators with the highest weights at the first, second, and third levels were “surveillance and early warning indicators for outbreak/epidemic risk factors”“disease surveillance and public health emergency reports” and “pathogen carrier rates and population density changes of vectors such as mosquitoes, ticks, and rodents”, respectively. Conclusion The surveillance and early warning indicator system for key infectious diseases constructed in this study has certain scientificity and rationality. In the future, through field application verification, the indicator system will be continuously improved to provide theoretical references for the early detection and warning of key infectious diseases in Anhui Province.