Abstract: Objective To explore the application of computer-assisted telephone interviewing in the follow-up study of endemic diseases,and to provide a reference and basis for wide range application of this method.Methods In this investigation,146 patients with Keshan disease from 2 provinces were recruited in.The study mainly included two questionnaire surveys:disease follow-up questionnaire survey and cardiac insufficiency quality of life scale survey.Survey methods included computer-assisted telephone survey and face-to-face questionnaire survey.In the 18-month of follow-up study,one computer-assisted telephone survey was done in the 3ed,6th,12th,15th month,and one face-to-face questionnaire survey in 9th and 18th month.Time-consuming and quality of the two survey methods were eompaired.The computer-assisted telephone survey database was designed using Epi Info 3.32software.Results The computer-assisted telephone survey took an average of (13.10 t 1.80)min,and face-to-facequestionnaire survey took an average of (22.04 ± 2.28)min,the difference was statistically significant (t =- 36.214,P < 0.05).The error rate of computer-assisted telephone survey was 6.80% (37/544),and that of face-to-face questionnaire survey was 11.07%(28/253),the difference was statistically significant(x2 =4.195,P < 0.05).The quality of computer-assisted telephone survey was better than that of face-to-face questionnaire survey.Conclusions Through the computer-assisted telephone interviewing,the work efficiency of investigators is improved during the follow-up study of Keshan disease.The validation function improves the accuracy rate during the process of data entry.Because of the application of telephone contact,a lot of research funding is saved.