Abstract/Summary: Objective: To understand the potential health risks associated with intermittent water supply（IWS） in rural area of China generally，and to evaluate the impact of IWS on water and sanitation-related behaviors in rural households specifically. Methods: Two villages with IWS were selected as the study group，one in Shandong province and one in Hubei province，and two neighboring villages with similar socioeconomic conditions and continuous water supply（CWS） were selected as the controls. A total of 600 households were randomly selected in the IWS and CWS groups. From August to November，2017，trained investigators conducted structured interviews to collect a variety of data related to general information of the investigated families，infrastructure of household water and environment，water and sanitation -related behaviors，etc. Data on basic information and operational situation of local drinking water treatment plants was also collected. Results: The primary reported reason for IWS was to decrease the electricity costs associated with water treatment and supply. Insufficient water production and poor clean water storage capacity were also the reasons for IWS. Under conditions of IWS，water was usually supplied one or three times per day during the peak period of water consumption，such as morning，noon and evening. The average duration of water supply in the IWS areas ranged from four hours to 15 hours. Households in the IWS group were much more likely to have water storage facilities （97.0%，194/200） compared with those in the CWS group （47.0%，188/400）. Compared with the CWS group，IWS households had worse measures of personal hygiene，indoor hygiene and household courtyard hygiene，and these differences were statistically significant （P<0.01）. The main types of water storage devices used in IWS households were roof mounted water tanks，water buckets and ceramic water tanks. The percentages of roof -mounted water tanks without mark of qualified quality，household water storage containers without hygienic administrative license for drinking water -related products，clean roof -mounted water tanks and storage containers were 44.6% ，41.5% ，17.9% and 29.7% respectively. Conclusion: Compared with CWS，IWS in rural areas is strongly associated with changes in water-related health behaviors，and unsafe household water storage is the most prominent problem for health risks. Additional attention should be paid to the water safety of rural residents living under conditions of IWS.