Medical students are the main force in health care development. It is of great significance to study students’ cognition and attitude towards euthanasia in medical universities for establishing correct medical humanities and carrying out corresponding medical ethics education. This study found that most of the respondents had a basic understanding of euthanasia but were lack of a clear and embedded understanding of euthanasia. There are differences among medical students with different characteristics. Medical ethics education， life education and legal knowledge of euthanasia should be combined with palliative care education to guide medical students to understand death and euthanasia correctly.