Objective To investigate the adverse pregnant outcomes of hospitalized pregnant women in Lanzhou city, and analyze the corresponding risk factors and provide basis for the further research on better child-bearing and child-rearing. Methods In two provincial-level hospitals and one provincial-level specialized hospital, the method of cluster random sampling was applied to extract 6 825 medical records from January 2004 to December 2005. The relevant information was abstracted and correlative analyses were undertaken. Results The incidence of adverse pregnancy outcomes for the hospitalized pregnant women in Lanzhou city was 14.65%. Single-factor unconditional logistic regression analyses displayed that the variables with statistical significance were the number of previous pregnancies, the number of previous child delivery, abortion history, abnormal gestation history, and past medical history, whereas multi-factor unconditional logistic regression analyses revealed that the adverse pregnancy outcomes were positively correlated with abnormal gestation history and the number of previous pregnancies with statistical significance. Conclusion The incidence of adverse pregnancy outcomes for the hospitalized pregnant women in Lanzhou city is quite high. Abnormal gestation history and the number of previous pregnancies are the main risk factors for the adverse pregnancy outcomes.