OBJECTIVE To explore the etiological characteristics and risk factors of pulmonary infection in patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathy(IIM)associated interstitial pneumonia(IIP).METHODS The 95 IIM-IIP patients with and without pulmonary infection treated in Nanyang Central Hospital from Dec 2019 to Apr 2023 were assigned as the infected group(n=52)and non-infected group(n=43),respectively.The status and etio-logical characteristics of pulmonary infection in patients with IIM-IIP were analyzed.The risk factors of pulmonary infection in patients with IIM-IIP were analyzed by univairate and multivariate analysis.RESULTS Among 95 IIM-IIP patients,52 cases had pulmonary infection,the incidence of pulmonary infection was 54.74%.A total of 59 strains of pathogenic bacteria were isolated,among which the proportion of gram-negative bacteria,gram-positive bacteria,fungi,cytomegalovirus and mycoplasma pneumoniae were 45.76%,28.81%,20.34%,3.39%,1.69%,respectively.Gram-negative bacteria were mainly Pseudmonas aeruginosa(11 strains),gram-positive bacteria were mainly Streptococcus pneumoniae(7 strains).Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that peripheral blood lymphocyte count,CD4+/CD8+,serum albumin,lactate dehydrogenase(LDH)were risk factors for pul-monary infection in patients with IIM-IIP(P<0.05).CONCLUSION The incidence of pulmonary infection in pa-tients with IIM-IIP is high,and the pathogenic bacteria are mainly gram-negative bacteria.Pulmonary infection in IIM-IIP patients is closely related to peripheral blood lymphocyte count,CD4+/CD8+,albumin and LDH.Therefore,early targeted prevention and treatment should be used to reduce the risk for pulmonary infection in patients with IIM-IIP.