ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to investigate death anxiety status among Chinese patients with cancer and identify factors that affect death anxiety.DesignCross-sectional study.SettingChangsha, Hunan Province, China.ParticipantsA total of 286 inpatients diagnosed with cancer were randomly recruited from a tertiary cancer centre and completed the questionnaires between January and June 2021.Primary and secondary outcome measuresThe primary outcome was the status of death anxiety. The secondary outcomes were the factors that affect death anxiety among Chinese patients with cancer.MethodsA total of 286 Chinese patients with cancer were recruited from a tertiary cancer hospital to complete the demographic and clinical characteristics questionnaire, Templer’s Death Anxiety Scale, Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-second edition, and Meaning in Life Questionnaire from January to June 2021. Data were analysed using t-test, analysis of variance, Kruskal-Wallis H test, Pearson correlation analysis and multiple linear regression analysis.ResultsOn average, patients with cancer scored 7.72±4.17 for death anxiety, 25.71±9.69 for experiential avoidance and 45.19±8.22 for meaning in life. Ultimately, the statistically significant factors influencing death anxiety were education levels, insurance, pain scores, experiential avoidance and meaning in life. These factors explained 40.6% of the difference in death anxiety.ConclusionsPatients with cancer in China experienced a high level of death anxiety. This study showed that experiential avoidance and meaning in life were important factors that affected death anxiety in patients with cancer. Further studies should be conducted to explore effective interventions to prevent experiential avoidance and increase meaning in life for patients with cancer. Attention should be paid to patients without insurance but with lower education levels and higher pain scores to ultimately relieve death anxiety and improve their quality of life.