Objective To understand epidemiological characteristics of malaria cases reported in Shandong Province, so as to provide scientific evidence for better prevention and control of malaria. Methods The data of malaria reported in Shandong Province during 2015-2017 were collected from the Information Management System for Infectious Diseases Report and Information Management System for Parasitic Diseases Control and Prevention, and the clinical manifestations of malaria cases were collected and statistically analyzed by SPSS 18.0. Results Among 676 malaria cases reported during 2015-2017, 99.85% (675/676) were imported and most of them were imported from African countries (96.75%, 654/676), mainly from Equatorial Guinea（143, 21.87%）and Angola（85, 13.00%）. All cases were laboratory confirmed with 76.04% of Plasmodium falciparum infection and 9.76% of P. vivax infection. About 1/4 patients (28.85%, 195/676) went to visit doctor on the first day with symptoms, while 38.17% (258/676) of patients went to visit doctor three or more days after they had symptoms. About 1/3 of patients were diagnosed as malaria at the first doctor visit (37.43%, 253/676) and 1/3 misdiagnosed as other diseases(31.66%, 214/676), and another 1/3 were diagnosed as malaria 3 days after the first visit (32.84%, 222/676). The accuracy for diagnoses of P. falciparum, P. vivax, P. ovale and P. malariae infections were 97.49%(504/517), 67.86% (57/84), 90.91% (50/55) and 91.67% (11/12), respectively, after being re-confirmed by provincial experts. Among 65 severe malaria patients only 17 went to see doctor on the first day with clinical symptoms(26.15%) and 18 patients were diagnosed as malaria at the first visit (27.69%). 17 cities reported malaria cases during the period (2015-2017) and 74.26% (502/676) of the total malaria cases were reported in 6 cities (Jining, Tai’an, Weihai, Yantai, Qingdao and Jinan). The imported cases were reported in all 17 cities and most of them (59.32%, 401/676) distributed in 5 cities (Tai’an, Yantai, Weihai, Jining and Qingdao). More young and middle-aged men were infected. The minimum age was 16 years old, the maximum age was 65, and the median age was 41 years old. They were mainly peasants（422,62.43%）. Conclusions Total 676 malaria cases were reported in Shandong Province during 2015-2017 and 96.75% of them were imported from Africa. The rates for going to see doctor on the first day with clinical symptoms and the accurate diagnosis with malaria on the first visit were low.