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Objective: To investigate the urban‐rural disparities in health risk factors, health status and outcomes in Tianjin, China and to make an international comparison with urban‐rural health in Australia. Design: A descriptive analytical cross‐sectional survey. Setting: Mobile research teams conducted door‐to‐door field surveys of each house or department. The teams included local administrative staff and Tianjin Center for Disease Control and Prevention's epidemiologists, clinicians and laboratory technicians. Participants: A total of 25 288 residents were interviewed and clinically observed, including 8583 urban residents and 16 705 rural residents. Main outcome measure: Health risk factors, health status and outcomes. Results: The age structure in urban areas of Tianjin was growing older. Rural residents received less high school education and university education than did urban residents. Urban residents had higher medical insurance coverage and paid more out‐of‐pocket medical expenditures than did rural residents. The prevalence of smoking and the crude alcohol consumption rate were higher in rural areas than in urban areas. Rural residents had feelings of higher self‐satisfaction concerning their health status than did urban residents. The prevalence of hypertensive disease, type 2 diabetes and heart, stroke and vascular diseases were significantly lower in rural areas than in urban areas. The incidence rate of serious injuries resulting from traffic accidents was significantly higher in rural areas than in urban areas. Conclusion: Contrary to Australian urban‐rural survey outcomes, the health status and outcomes of residents in rural areas of Tianjin seemed to be better than those of their counterparts in urban areas. The underlying determinants of these outcomes need to be explored with further study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]