BACKGROUND: The public's cognition of stroke and responses to stroke symptoms are important to prevent complications and decrease the mortality when stroke occurs. The aim of study was to develop and validate the Chinese version of the Stroke Action Test (C-STAT) in a Chinese population. METHODS: This study was rigorously implemented with the published guideline for the translation, adaptation and validation of instruments for the cross-cultural use in healthcare care research. A cross-sectional study was performed among 328 stroke patients and family members in the Department of Neurology in the Second Hospital of Lanzhou University, Gansu province, China in 2014. RESULTS: < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The C-STAT is an intelligible and brief psychometrical tool to assess individuals' knowledge of the appropriate responses to stroke symptoms in Chinese populations. It could also be used by health care providers to assess educational programs on stroke prevention.