Abstract: Objective To provide references for forensic expertise by investigating the kinds of toxicant, routes of exposure and manners of poisoning deaths, etc. Methods Six hundred and seven autopsy cases of poisoning deaths from 1957 to 2008 in Department of Forensic Medicine, Tongji Medical College（Tongji Forensic Science Identification Center of Hubei）, were comparatively reviewed. Results In 218 cases from 1999 to 2008, more than 50% of decedents were male in the ages of 30-49. The toxicants are usually taken orally and the most common manner of death was accidental. The common substances involved in poisoning death were rodenticide, poisoning gas and insecticide. Compared to the data of 1983-1998 and 1957-1982, the common toxic agents had changed significantly. The number of cases involving insecticide and cyanide poisoning decreased in recent years, and the number of cases of rodenticide, poisoning gas, alcohols poisoning displayed an increase tendency, especially for drugs abuse. Conclusion Poisoning deaths of pesticides remain a major public health problem for a long time and the awareness of prevention need to be raised, especially for the prevention of deaths from multiple poisons.

Key words: forensic medicine, poisoning, postmortem examination, cases study