Abstract: Objective To observe the practice of speech therapists (ST) in various grades hospitals in China. Methods Speech therapists of 457 hospitals of various grades in 30 provinces, autonomous regions or municipalities were investigated with self-developed questionnaire. Results 657 valid questionnaires were returned among 685 questionnaires. The distribution of speech therapists in grades of hospitals was varied with the size of cities (P<0.001), which was concentrated in the grade 3 hospitals in the large cities. For the degree of education, professional background, qualification certificate, employment nature, work time, part-time work, and annual income of the speech therapists, it was varied with the grades of hospitals (P<0.05), which trended to be better in the grade 3 hospitals. The first 4 subjects the speech therapists dealt were dysarthria (91.3%), dysphagia (84.7%), aphasia (73.6%) and language development delay (52.7%). Conclusion It is important to support the practice of speech therapists, especially in grade 1 or 2 hospitals in order to match with the international standards.

Key words: speech therapists, hospitals, practice, investigation, China