Abstract: Objective To investigate associations between health-promoting lifestyle and suboptimal health status (SHS) in the population of Guangdong province. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted in a clustered sample of 24 159 individuals aged 12-80 years from 2012 to 2013. Health-promoting lifestyle was assessed via the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLP-II), and SHS was evaluated using the medical examination report and Sub-health Measurement Scale V1.0 (SHMS V1.0). Results Of the 24159 participants, subjects with SHS (46.0%) and disease status (35.2%) accounted for a much higher percentage than healthy subjects (18.8%). Regression analyses revealed a significant association between health status and healthy lifestyle (P<0.001). Unhealthy lifestyle was an important risk factor for SHS and disease, especially the former. Compared with the participants with a healthy lifestyle (minimal exposure), after demographic adjustment, subjects with a ’poor’ lifestyle (maximal exposure) were at a 43 times higher risk of developing SHS (OR: 42.825, 95% CI: 30.567-59.997), those with a general lifestyle were at a 21 times higher risk of SHS (OR: 21.072, 95%CI: 17.258-25.729), and those with a suboptimal lifestyle had a 4 times higher risk (OR: 4.085, 95% CI: 3.352-4.979). In the general population, the major risk factors for SHS included poor stress management, poor self-actualization, inactive exercise and poor interpersonal relationship. Conclusions Unhealthy lifestyles are significantly related to an increased risk of SHS. Intervention of unhealthy lifestyles, controlling the risk factors of SHS, and rigorous management of the time window of SHS are necessary to promote the heath status.