Objective To understand college students' public welfare awareness and behavior, to provide reference for the school to cultivate college students' public welfare awareness and behavior. Methods The questionnaire of public welfare consciousness and behavior of college students designed by ourselves was used to investigate college students of different grades and 5 kinds of majors in five universities in Nanjing. Results 95.2% of the college students had awareness of public welfare, 58.2% of the college students' positive evaluation of participating in public welfare activities was general, and 75.5% of the college students participated in public welfare activities occasionally.Sophomore students were the most motivated group to participate in public welfare.There was no significant difference in the behavior of students in different majors to participate in public welfare. Conclusions The general level of college students' awareness of public welfare is relatively high, and the motivation of public welfare is relatively correct, but the behavior of participating in public welfare is still not ideal, and various factors hinder college students' participation in public welfare activities.It suggests that the school and relevant departments should actively guide students, provide financial, technical and training support, and create better conditions and opportunities for college students to participate in public welfare. Key words: College students; Public welfare awareness; Public welfare behavior