Background: Most suicide attempts in China are treated for the physical consequences of the attempt in the emergency room departments (ERs) of large general hospitals, few of which have affiliated mental health services that can be called upon to make psychological assessments of these patients.Aims: This retrospective study describes the characteristics of suicide attempters treated in the ER of a general hospital in Shanghai and identifies potential risk factors for suicide attempt by comparing the suicide attempters with other emergency room patients.Methods: The characteristics of 1246 suicide attempters (cases) treated in the ER from 2007 to 2010 were compared with a control group of 1246 ER patients treated for other complaints who were listed immediately after the index suicide attempters on the ER log.Results: Over the four years the proportions of all ER patients who had attempted suicide were 0.24% (334/139,748), 0.21% (324/151,936), 0.15% (281/191,983), and 0.14% (307/214,828), respectively.The mean (SD) age of the attempters was 36 (16) years.Female attempters outnumbered males 2 to 1.There were significant differences in the methods employed by gender: 64.0% of women attempters and 34.7% of male attempters ingested medication (primarily sedative-hypnotics), 17.1% of women and 19.3% of men ingested other poisons, and 3.8% of women and 29.7% of men jumped from a height (Chi Square=28.5, df=2, P<0.01).There were significant differences in the proportion of attempters by season and by time of day but not by day of the week.The controls included 59% with medical illness, 33% with different types of accidents and 8% with other conditions including mental illnesses.Compared to the controls the attempters were younger (t=18.63, P<0.01) and more likely to be women (Chi Square =151.59, P<0.01).Conclusion: Prevention strategies for suicide attempts need to focus on young women, particularly during the summer months.A comprehensive registry system that identifies all medically treated suicides throughout the Shanghai Municipality is essential to the development of targeted suicide prevention strategies for the city.