ObjectiveThe aims of this study were to estimate the rates of regular exercise and its trends among the adult population in Jiangsu, from 2010 to 2018, China, and to assess associations with sociodemographic factors.MethodsChronic disease and risk factor surveillance data from adults aged ≥18 years were gathered in Jiangsu Province from 2010 to 2018. Rates of regular exercise were calculated after post-stratification weighting, and time trends were compared among participants with different characteristics, including gender, age, urban–rural region, educational level, occupation, annual household income, body mass index (BMI), baseline self-reported chronic diseases, smoking status, alcohol consumption, and region. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the associations of sociodemographic characteristics with regular exercise.ResultsA total of 33,448 participants aged 54.05 ± 14.62 years and 55.4% female (8,374 in 2010, 8,302 in 2013, 8,372 in 2015, and 8,400 in 2018) were included in this study. The weighted rate of regular exercise was 12.28% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 9.11–15.45%) in 2010 and 21.47% (95% CI, 17.26–25.69%) in 2018, showing an overall increasing trend (Pfor trend = 0.009). Nevertheless, stratification analysis showed that the regular exercise rate decreased from 33.79% in 2010 to 29.78% in 2018 among retired adults. Significant associations were observed between regular exercise and age >45 years (45– < 60 years, odds ratio [OR]: 1.24, 95% CI: 1.14–1.34; ≥60 years, OR: 1.20, 95% CI: 1.08–1.34), urban residence (OR: 1.43, 95% CI: 1.32–1.54), higher education (primary, OR: 1.30, 95% CI: 1.16–1.46; secondary, OR: 2.00, 95% CI: 1.79–2.25; college or higher, OR: 3.21, 95% CI: 2.77–3.72), occupation (manual work, OR: 1.52, 95% CI: 1.33–1.73; non-manual work, OR: 1.69, 95% CI: 1.54–1.85; not working, OR: 1.22, 95% CI: 1.03–1.44; retired, OR: 2.94, 95% CI: 2.61–3.30), higher income (¥30,000– < ¥60,000, OR: 1.16, 95% CI: 1.06–1.28; ≥¥60,000, OR: 1.20, 95% CI: 1.10–1.32), higher BMI (overweight, OR: 1.12, 95% CI: 1.05–1.20), self-reported chronic disease at baseline (OR: 1.24, 95% CI:1.16–1.33), former smoking (OR: 1.15, 95% CI: 1.01–1.31) and ever (30 days ago) drinking (OR: 1.20, 95% CI: 1.11–1.29).ConclusionThe rate of regular exercise among adults in Jiangsu Province was low, but this rate increased by 9.17% from 2010 to 2018, showing an upward trend. There were differences in the rate of regular exercise among different sociodemographic factors.