Abstract: Objective To analyse the characteristics of road traffic accident deaths in Haikou city, and to provide reference for the identification of causes of death and the preventive measures. Methods Totally 498 road traffic accident deaths accepted by the Traffic Police Branch of Haikou City Public Security Bureau in 2014—2016 were collected, and the related parameters such as sex, age, time of the accidents, travel mode of the victims, the types of vehicle and the cause of death were analysed. Results Most victims aged 21-40 years old with the sex ratio of 3:1, and the accidents mainly happened in March, April, May and October and peaked at 6：01-8：00 and 20：01-22：00 per day. Riding motorbike and electric bicycle, as travel modes, had the highest accident incidence （30.9%）. The vast majority of involved vehicles were motorbike and electric bicycle （57.4%）. The most common cause of death was craniocerebral injury, followed by chest and abdominal injury. Conclusion The autopsy of road traffic accident deaths plays an important role in identification of death manner and responsibility confirmation.

Key words: forensic pathology, accidents, traffic, autopsy, cause of death, cases analysis