To analyze the clinical characteristics of young patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), discuss the key points of health education in young patients with AMI, enhance the understanding of patients, and improve the prognosis of AMI in the young patients. The patients were chosen in Xiangya Hospital from September 2012 to September 2013. We consulted the medical records, analyzed the clinical characteristics and results of coronary angiogram in young patients (age≤45), and compared with old patients (age≥60). There were 69 young patients with AMI, about 14.2% of all the patients with AMI. Of the 69 young patients, 59 were male (85.5%) and 10 were female (14.5%). Compared with the old patients, the percentages of smoking, drinking, hyperlipidemia and overweight were much higher; the percentages of hypertension and diabetes were much lower in young patients. The coronary angiogram showed that the constituent ratios of insignificant disease and single-vessel disease in the young patients were higher than those in the old patients; the constituent ratios of doublevessel disease and triple-vessel disease in the young patients were lower than those in the old patients. The clinical characteristics of young patients with AMI are different from the old patients. Health education should be conducted in the youth, and new diet and lifestyle should be advocated.