Objective To understand the sexual knowledge

attitudes and behaviors of students in higher vocational colleges（referred to as"higher vocational students"）in Chongqing

and to provide scientific basis for schools to carry out sexual health education.Methods Cluster sampling method was used to select 306 students from a higher vocational college in Chongqing as the survey sample.The survey was conducted using the self-made"questionnaire on sexual knowledge of students in higher vocational colleges".The survey data was entered using Epidata 3.0

and statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 21.0.Results The awareness rates of the knowledge points that mosquito bites will not spread AIDS

the correct use of condoms can reduce the spread of AIDS

masturbation is harmful to the body

and spermicides are not contraceptive were 35.9%

34.0%

78.8%

85.0%

respectively.The awareness rate of boys on the above four knowledge points were 26.9%

7.7%

77.2%

and 80.2%

respectively

which were lower than 46.8%

65.5%

80.6%

and 90.6% of girls.The difference was statistically significant（P<0.05）.In addition

there were no statistically significant difference in the awareness rates of higher vocational students of different genders regarding the effectiveness of emergency contraception

the ineffectiveness of washing sexual organs after intercourse as a contraceptive method

and the correct treatment after unprotected behavior（P>0.05）.Among the reasons for the sexual behaviors during the period of love

the highest proportion of students chose"unclear"（30.4%）

followed by"satisfying physiological needs"of 27.1%.The proportion of boys who chose"to meet physiological needs"was 35.3%

which was higher than 17.3% of girls

and the difference was statistically significant（P<0.05）.The proportion of boys who chose"unclear"was 18.0%

which was lower than 45.3% of girls.The difference was statistically significant（P<0.05）.Regarding parents′attitude towards their children′s love

45.1%of the higher vocational students thought their parents have a tolerant attitude.Only 7.8% of the higher vocational students thought their parents were against it.The proportion of boys who chose their parents′attitude as"fear and alert"was 15.6%

which was lower than 35.3% of girls

and the difference was statistically significant（P<0.05）.The proportion of boys who chose"understanding and tolerance"was 51.5%

which was higher than that of girls（37.4%）

and the difference was statistically significant（P<0.05）.The proportion of boys who had sex was 43.1%

which was higher than12.2% of girls

and the difference was statistically significant（P<0.05）.The proportion of higher vocational students who had received sexual health education was 87.3%

and the channels for receiving sexual health education were mainly schools（74.3%）and networks（62.1%）.67.3%of vocational students believed that it is necessary to integrate sex education into university courses.Conclusion There is a lack of sexual knowledge among higher vocational students

and their sexual attitudes and sexual behaviors are quite open.Sexual health education is an important part of education.It is suggested that schools should strengthen the sexual health education of higher vocational students and open the "Sexual Health Education for College Students" elective class and incorporate new media reminder services into sexual health education.