Objective To review the clinical data of burned children admitted in the Department of Burns and Plastic Surgery of Ruijin Hospital between 2003-2012, understand epidemiological rules, and identify efficient ways to reduce the incidence of paediatric burns. Methods Medical histories of 0-14 years old burned children who admitted in Ruijin Hospital from 2003 to 2012 were summarized. Research indexes included the basic information of patients, burn etiology, burn extent, anatomical locations, burn areas, operation, and hospitalization days, etc. Results A total of 1 844 patients were enrolled and 1 112 (60.3%) patients were from migrant families. The number of patients admitted during 2008-2012 doubled as compared to the number of patients admitted during 2003-2007. Most patients were 0-3 years old and accounted for 73.8% of all patients. Scalding was the main cause of paediatric burns of each age group. The incidence of burns was high in spring (29.6%) and summer (26.7%). The upper extremities of 1 015 patients were burned and 575 patients underwent skin graft operations. The average hospital stay was 11 d. Seven amputations were performed for patients with electrical burns. Seven patients died. Six of them died from scalding and one died from flame burn injury. Conclusion Most burned children are from migrant families. The number of burned children increases with the growth of resident population in Shanghai. Safety education for migrant families, especially those with 0-3 years old children, may be an effective way to reduce the incidence of paediatric burns.