Recent report on epidemiology of acute kidney injury (AKI) is lacking for Chinese children. We aimed to investigate the risk factors for stage and prognostic factors for renal recovery in hospitalized children. Pediatric patients (a parts per thousand currency sign18 years old) admitted during 2003 to 2013 were enrolled in this study. AKI was defined and staged using Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) criteria. Logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the risk factors and prognostic factors. The morbidity of pediatric AKI was 0.31% (205/65 237). There were 45 (22.0%) cases in stage III, 30 (14.6%) cases in stage II and 130 (63.4%) cases in stage III. The majority of etiologies were intrinsic renal defects (85.4%). Age, weight, vomit, etiology, blood urea nitrogen (BUN) at admission and several blood gas measurements were associated with AKI stage III. Age (OR=0.894; 95% CI, 0.832-0.962; P=0.003), vomit (OR=2.375; 95% CI, 1.058-5.333; P=0.036) and BUN at admission (OR=1.135; 95% CI, 1.085-1.187; P < 0.001) were identified as independent risk factors for AKI stage III. After treatment, 172 (83.9%) patients achieved complete or partial recovery. The mortality was 3.9%. Variables were found as prognostic factors for renal recovery, such as age, stage, hospital stay, BUN at discharge, white blood cells, red blood cells, platelets (PLTs), blood pH and urine blood. Among them, AKI stage (stage III vs. stage I; OR, 6.506; 95% CI, 1.640-25.816; P=0.008), BUN at discharge (OR, 0.918; 95% CI, 0.856-0.984; P=0.016) and PLTs (OR, 1.007; 95% CI, 1.001-1.013; P=0.027) were identified as independent prognostic factors. AKI is still common in Chinese hospitalized children. Identified risk factors and prognostic factors provide guiding information for clinical management of AKI.