Objective To understand the disease distribution characteristics of inpatients in a 3-A-grade general hospital in Guangzhou from 2016 to 2022,to explore the impact of the COVID-19 on the disease spectrum,and to provide reference for hospitals to reasonably allocate medical resources and improve medical level. Methods Inpatient case data of a 3-A-grade general hospital from 2016 to 2022 were retrospectively collected and were classified according to the ICD-10 international statistical classification standard. A Joinpoint regression model was established to analyze the temporal trend of disease composition ratios in different categories. Results From 2016 to 2022,the type of top 12 diseases remained unchanged. There were 4 diseases showing an upward trend in composition,namely circulatory system diseases,tumors,digestive system diseases and eye and accessory organ diseases. There were 3 diseases showing a downward trend in composition,namely respiratory system diseases,musculoskeletal system and connective tissue diseases,as well as pregnancy,childbirth and postpartum period. A subgroup analysis was conducted on these 7 types of systemic diseases by gender,age group and place of residence(within/outside Guangzhou). The results showed that except for eye and accessory organ diseases and pregnancy,childbirth and postpartum period,there was no significant difference in the trend of changes in the other 5 systemic diseases between males and females(all P>0. 05). The upward trend of circulatory system diseases,tumors and digestive system diseases could be observed in people over the age of 25. The hospitalization rate of eye and accessory organ diseases among people over 45 years old was increasing year by year. The downward trend of respiratory diseases was concentrated in people aged 0~5 and over 65 years old,while the downward trend of musculoskeletal and connective tissue diseases could be observed in people aged 45 and above. The downward trend of pregnancy,childbirth and postpartum period could be observed in people under 45 years old. The trend of changes in the proportion of systemic diseases among inpatient cases from both overall and within Guangzhou had not been found to have a joinpoint in 2019. However,for cases residing outside of Guangzhou,there were six systemic diseases that all had a joinpoint in 2019. Compared with the growth trend from 2016 to 2019,the growth trend from 2020 to 2022 generally weakened or showed a slightly downward trend,but none of them were statistically significant. In 2022,the proportion of multiple diseases in hospitalized cases from outside Guangzhou was lower than that in 2019. The proportion of cases in the age group ≤24 years old who are hospitalized due to pregnancy,childbirth and postpartum period has been decreasing rapidly since 2019,but there was no statistical significance. The proportion of cases hospitalized due to pregnancy,childbirth and postpartum period in the population ≤24 years old from 2020 to 2022 was significantly lower than the level in 2019. Conclusions The disease spectrum of inpatients had undergone significant changes between 2016 and 2022,and these trends of changes were different among different genders,age groups and places of residence. The prevalence of the COVID-19 from 2020 to 2022 mainly reduced the proportion of inpatients with multiple systemic diseases living outside Guangzhou,and the proportion of inpatients aged 24 and under hospitalized for pregnancy,childbirth and puerperium.