BackgroundSoil-transmitted helminths (STHs) were previously endemic in Shandong Province, China. This study aimed to analyze the STHs prevalence trend and the natural, social, and human cognitive and behavioural factors influencing the discrepancies between high and low infection levels from 2016 to 2020 in Shandong Province in eastern China.MethodsSTHs surveillance data of Shandong Province from 2016 to 2020 were obtained from China Information Management System for Prevention and Control of Parasitic Diseases. STHs infections were detected by modified Kato–Katz method. Comprehensive information on the natural and social factors, STHs-related knowledge and behaviours were collected through questionnaire surveys. Retrospective spatial scan analysis was performed using SaTScan v10.1 to evaluate any identified spatial clusters of STHs infection for statistical significance and Bayes discriminant analysis was used to discriminate the high or low infection groups of the villages.ResultsIn total, 72,160 participants were involved in our survey from 2016 to 2020. The overall STHs prevalence rate was 1.13%, with the eastern region of Shandong Province having the highest rate (2.02%). The predominant species wasT. trichiura, with the prevalence rate of 0.99% and the ≥ 70-year age group possessed the highest rate of 2.21%. The STHs prevalence rate showed an annual linear downward trend from 2016 to 2020 (\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}
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				\begin{document}$$\chi_{{{\text{trend}}}}^{2}$$\end{document}χtrend2= 127.600,P< 0.001). Respondents aged ≥ 60 years had the lowest awareness level of STHs-related prevention knowledge (allP< 0.05), and were the most likely to adopt the practice of fertilizing with fresh stool (χ2= 28.354,P< 0.001). Furthermore, the southern region demonstrated the highest temperature and rainfall level and the lowest GNP and annual net income per capita (allP< 0.05).ConclusionsThere is a remarkable declining in STHs prevalence in Shandong Province from 2016 to 2020. However, the prevalence rates of STHs especiallyT. trichiurain the southern and eastern regions were still high, and the elderly were more susceptible to be infected with STHs owning to their low awareness level of STHS-related prevention knowledge and high adoption rate of dangerous production and living behaviours. Integrated approaches of health education, environment improvement and behaviour change should be strengthened to obtain a further reduction of STHs prevalence in China.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40249-023-01100-4.