Objective To investigate the willingness to sign a contract of family physician service and its influencing factors among university community residents in northwest China

so as to provide insights into how to improve community healthcare.Methods A total of 821 participants were randomly selected from patients of a university hospital（community health center）

community residents

and faculty members of two colleges of this university.A self-designed questionnaire was used in this study

and statistical analysis was performed.Results Totally 419 participants（51.0%）were willing to sign a contract in order to maintain a relatively fixed relationship with their family physician

216（26.3%）expressed their unwillingness

97（11.8%）were hesitate to sign such a contract

and 89（10.9%）thought"it doesn′t really matter".The willingness to sign a contract of family physician service varied significantly with gender

age

educational background

and occupation（χ2=15.842

65.516

30.557

and 92.135

respectively;all P<0.05）.The proportion of willing participants increased with age.As for"the most important factor in selecting family physician"

296 participants（36.1%）chose"familiarity with the contracted physician"

and 247（30.1%）chose"competency of the contracted physician".In terms of"the influencing factor on the willingness to sign a contract of family physician service"

317（38.6%）

305（37.1%）

125（15.3%）

49（6.0%）and 25（3.0%）chose" worry about possible treatment delay"

" uncertain about family physician’s competency"

" worry about misdiagnosis"

" may affect the free choice of medical centers"

and" worry about high cost"

respectively.About 68.1% of participants agreed that"contract-related charge is reasonable for family physician contracted service

and 453（55.2%）believed that the acceptable standard for contract-related charge was 20-50 RMB per year.Conclusion It is important to enhance the acceptance of family physician system among community residents.Meanwhile

community health centers should further explore the contents and running mode of family physician contracted service

which may help to improve the quality and coverage of service as well as the professional competency of family physicians.