Purpose To determine the prevalence and associated risk factors of suicidal ideation (SI) among junior, senior high and college school students. Methods A total of 5249 students in Anhui Province of China participated in a self‐administered anonymous survey. Results Females were more likely to report SI than males (32.1% vs. 20.6%). Using binary logistic regression analysis, we found that being female, passive coping, lower family satisfaction, lower school satisfaction, lower living environment satisfaction and higher self‐esteem were associated with an increased risk of SI. Conclusions This study suggested that SI was common among Chinese adolescents. Being female, high score of passive coping, lower family satisfaction, lower school satisfaction, lower living environment satisfaction and higher self‐esteem were significantly associated with an increased risk of SI. There is an urgent need to take effective measures reducing the rate of SI among adolescents through collaboration among families, schools and society.