Objective To investigate the current situation of management on drainage devices in secondary and tertiary hospitals in Henan Province，so as to provide basis for regulated management in medical institutions. Methods A questionnaire survey was conducted in secondary and tertiary hospitals in Henan Province using stratified random sampling. Management of drainage devices and their liquid in operating rooms and surgical ICUs in two categories of hospitals were investigated and compared. Results The usage rate of disposable drainage bottles/bags was 93.88% and 100% in operating rooms and surgical ICUs，respectively. The reusable drainage bottles were used in 23（46.94%） operating rooms and 27（56.25%） surgical ICUs. In orthopedic or urologic surgery which produced a lot of waste liquid，the usage rate of the reusable drainage bottles in secondary hospitals was significantly higher than that in tertiary hospitals（37.50% v.s. 4.00%）（P<0.05）. The used disposable drainage bottles/bags were directly discarded into medical waste bags in 36（71.43%） hospitals. The reusable drainage bottles were disposed by nurses in 28（57.14%） hospitals and the average length of disposing was（35.38±13.47） min. There were 29（59.18%） hospitals poured the postoperative drainage fluid into sewer line. Conclusion The major drainage devices were disposable drainage bottle/bag and reusable drainage bottle. There was no uniform standard for the disposal of drainage devices and their liquid. It is necessary not only to strengthen standardized management，but also to explore and improve the drainage system suitable to clinical practice in the future.