Objective The epidemiological characteristics of foodborne disease outbreaks in China in 2019 were analyzed to provide scientific basis for further adjustment on prevention and control strategies. Methods The data of foodborne disease outbreaks collected by National Foodborne Disease Outbreaks Surveillance System were used to analyze the epidemiological characteristics through descriptive statistics. Results A total of 6 390 foodborne disease outbreaks were reported in China, resulting in 38 797 illnesses and 134 deaths from 30 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) and Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps(except Tibet). Among the 3 572 confirmed single etiologic agents, microbial pathogens were the most common cause of outbreaks accounting for 52.01% of the illnesses(12 738/24 491). Poisonous mushroom caused the largest percentage of outbreaks and deaths, accounting for 44.96%(1 606/3 572) and 57.60%(72/125) respectively. In settings of foodborne disease outbreaks, catering services accounted for 49.95% of the illnesses(3 192/6 390) and 70.00% of the outbreaks(27 156/38 797), households had the largest number of deaths, accounting for 80.60%(108/134). Conclusion Foodborne disease outbreaks mainly occurred in catering services. Microbial pathogens remained the top cause of illnesses in China, poisonous mushrooms caused the largest deaths. The supervision and management of food safety and health education should be strengthened and effective measures should be taken for high risk food, main site and major pathogenic factors to reduce the burden of foodborne diseases.