Background Occupational injury (OI) is one of the five leading causes of death related injury in Viet Nam. In order to assess the situation of OI in Vietnam from 2005–2010, the study examined all causes specific mortality of over 10 000 communes.

Objective and Method Retrospective method.

Results There were 1883 deaths related OI which were accounted for 5.32% of total injuries during 2005–2010. In comparison with 2005, the mortality ratio in 2010 was slightly higher (with 2.64/100 000 population in 2010 and 2.3/100 000 in 2005). OI occupied the forth position among the leading causes of death related injury, only after road traffic injuries, drowning and suicide. Deaths related OI were 1.5; 1.8 and 2.2 times higher than that of falls, poisoning, and burns and violence, respectively. More than 80% deaths related OI occurred in male. Age group 20–59 had the highest number of deaths related OI. This could be explained that people at the age group 20–59 are the major workforce in Viet Nam.

Significance Development of policy to reduce OI deaths requires appropriate interventional measures such as national plans on occupational health and safety, enhancement of pre-hospital trauma care at workplace and health promotion at work, improvement of working conditions and implementation of sentinel surveillance systems on OI at some key industrial zones.