Aim:To evaluate the atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases (ASCVD) risk factors in type 2 diabetes (T2DM) patients from the primary diabetes clinics for further comprehensive intervention in China.Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted in 5 primary diabetes chain hospitals in Beijing, Lanzhou, Harbin, Chengdu and Taiyuan in continuous patients with T2DM from March 2016 to December 2019. The data collected at the first visit were analyzed, and proportions of patients reached the targets (glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1C) < 7%, blood pressure < 130 / 80mmHg, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) < 2.6mmol/l) were calculated. The differences among different hospitals, different treatment and numbers of aggregated ASCVD risk factors were compared.Results:A total of 20,431 participants, including 11,363 men (55.6%), with an average age of (59.4 ± 10.4) years were enrolled. Nearly 95% diabetes had one or more ASCVD risk factors other than hyperglycemia. The control rates of HbA1C, blood pressure, and LDL-C were 26.5%, 27.9%, and 42.6%, respectively. Only 4.1% patients achieved all 3 targets. Diabetes duration, family history and overweight/obesity were associated with the number of aggregated ASCVD risk factors. And the patients with short duration, no overweight/obesity, not smoking, less ASCVD risk factors and lived in Chengdu were associated with a higher control rates.Conclusions:In confront of poor control status, global management of ASCVD risk factors including weight loss and smoking stopping must be emphasized in the primary diabetes care settings.Highlights:The prevalence of ASCVD risk factors was high and control rates were low in the primary diabetes care hospitals in China.Overweight/obesity, smoking and resident area were associated with the aggregated ASCVD risk factors and worse control.Trial registration:Current ClinicalTrial.gov protocol ID NCT03707379. Date of Registration: October 16, 2018.https://clinicaltrials.gov