Abstract: Objective To investigate the risk factorsthat predict pain during colonoscopy for decision of sedation or analgesia before the examination. Methods A total of 283 consecutive patients undergoing colonoscopicexamination at Nanfang Hospital between July, 2016 and September, 2016were retrospectively analyzed. The clinical data and visual analogue scale after the examination were analyzed to identify the risk factors for pain during colonoscopy using univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression. A risk stratification model for predicting pain in colonoscopy was established. Results The completion rate of the procedure was significantly lower in patients with a visual analogue scale ≥5 (P<0.000). Univariate analysis showed that female patients, previous abdominal surgery, no previous experience with colonoscopy, complaint of abdominal pain before colonoscopy, insufficient experience of the endoscopists, patient’s anticipation of high painlevelbefore examination, and a low body mass index (BMI) were all associated with the experience of pain in colonoscopy (P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regressionanalysis identified BMI index (X1), level of experience of the endoscopist (A1, A2, A3) and the patient’s anticipation of painlevel (X2) as the risk factors of pain in colonoscopy(P<0.05), and the establishedmodel with the 3 variables was: P=eY/(1+eY),Y=0.049-0.124×X1-0.97×X2+1.713×A1+0.781×A2+0.147×A3, which showed a sensitivity of 70.3% and a specificity of 67.5% for predicting pain in colonoscopy. Conclusion The patient’s anticipation of a high pain level in colonoscopy, insufficient experience of the endoscopist, and a low BMI are the independent risk factors for pain in colonoscopy, and evaluation of these factors can help in the decision-making concerning the use of sedation or analgesia before colonoscopy.