Objective To investigate the disease characteristics， treatment status and unmet clinical needs of depression patients with suicidal ideation and suicidal attempt in China from the perspective of psychiatrists. Methods This was a cross-sectional study based on the electronic questionnaire survey. Using convenience sampling method， psychiatrists of 3A general hospitals or psychiatric hospitals across 24 provinces/municipalities in China were selected as the research subjects from December 2020 to January 2021. The electronic questionnaire was designed based on literature review and clinical practice， then reviewed and completed by an expert advisory committee. This questionnaire was used to collect basic information about psychiatrists， the composition of patients with depression， the clinical characteristics of patients with suicidal ideation and attempted suicide， the current clinical diagnosis and treatment status of patients with suicidal ideation and attempted suicide， and the clinical needs and expectations of doctors and patients. This study distributed 317 questionnaires and collected 209 valid questionnaires， with a valid recovery rate of 65.9%. Results There were 29.2%（61/209） and 10.0%（21/209） psychiatrists consider that more than half of the depression patients have suicidal ideation and suicidal attempt， respectively. While 58.4%（122/209） and 16.3% （34/209） psychiatrists believe that more than half of the depression patients in hospital had suicidal ideation and suicidal attempt， respectively. 46.9%（98/209） of psychiatrists consider that 10%-30% of patients with MDD with suicidal ideation would develop to suicidal attempt. It was believed that common risk factors for attempted suicide include past suicide history， worsening depressive symptoms， major negative life events， family history of suicide， and concomitant mental disorders. At present， the most commonly used treatment methods for depression patients with suicidal ideation and suicidal attempt are drug therapy combined with psychological therapy and drug therapy combined with modified electroconvulsive therapy. The three characteristics psychiatrists expect for future new drugs are fast-acting， to help patients return to normal school， work， life and social functions， and to reduce risk of recurrence. Conclusions There is inconsistency in the management of depression patients with suicidal ideation and suicidal attempt， and there is lack of timely and effective assessment tools and clinical interventions. In the future， in-depth research is needed around the above-mentioned bottleneck issues， and at the same time， standardized diagnosis and treatment models should be developed to shorten the differences in treatment levels between hospitals and psychiatrists， which is also an effective way to improve patient prognosis.