Objective To examine the incidence and characteristics of non-fatal machine injury in Bangladesh.

Methods A population-based cross-sectional survey was conducted between January and December 2003 in Bangladesh. Nationally representative data were collected from 171 366 rural and urban households, with a total sample size of 819 429.

Results The incidence of non-fatal machine injury was 41.1 per 100 000 per year. The rate was 6.95 times higher in Male than in females. Those who are age 15 to 19 years are most vulnerable groups than those of others. Rural people were at more than 2.15 times higher risk of machine injury than urban people. The average number of workdays lost was 262.57 (SD 419.741). The average duration of assistance required in daily living activities was 70.47 days (SD 227.324) days. The hospitalisation rate was 20.87 per 100 000 population per year. The mean duration of hospital stay was 18.49 days. The rate of permanent disability was 6.71 per 100 000 population-years.

Conclusion Machine injury is one of the major causes of morbidity, disability and workday loss Bangladeshi population. Adolescent workers are at highest risk. Factory and agricultural sector are the most common place of machine injury. Home is also third common place for machine related injury. To reduce this devastating health issue, a national strategy and Programme for machine injury prevention must be developed.