Objective By investigating the employment situation and intentions of medical students, to provide scientific evidence for guiding students’ employment by relevant departments, and to give references for formulating reasonable medical personnel training and distribution policy by health administrations. Methods The medical students of Grade 2005 in Lanzhou University were investigated by using a self-designed questionnaire. Results Among 397 questionnaires distributed, 337 were returned (84.8%). The analyses showed, when hunting a job, 45% of the respondents thought the “opportunities for personal development” was the most important factor, 61% thought the influence of parents’ or family’s desires was “greater” or “extremely greater”, 85% thought the job matching their majors was “important” or “very important”, 57% thought it is “easier” to get a content job by their majors, 51% held that the “fewer opportunities” were the most unfavorable conditions for working in township hospitals, 68% wouldn’t directly choose township hospitals after graduation, and 67% still gave up the choice even if an official position was provided. Conclusion The medical students attach great importance to the opportunities for their personal development, but they lack self-consciousness in choosing the occupation. They are optimistic about the employment but lack passion for primary hospitals. Meanwhile, they aren’t familiar with national policy guidance; their employment fields are narrow.