Abstract： Objective:To compare the epidemiological and etiological characteristics of hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) and herpangina (HA), so as to provide scientific references for their prevention and control.Methods:The basic information and samples of HFMD and HA cases in sentinel surveillance hospitals in Beijing from 2019 to 2022 were collected, followed by etiological detection. Statistical analysis was conducted to compare the differences in epidemiological and etiological characteristics.Results:A total of 3 668 surveillance cases of HFMD and 3 220 surveillance cases of HA were included in this study. The median ages of HFMD and HA cases were 4.2 years old and 4.4 years old, respectively, and the differences in gender and population type were statistically significant ( P<0.05). The time distribution for sample collection between HFMD and HA was basically consistent. The positive rate for enterovirus was 72.22% for HFMD compared to 39.88% for HA. CVA6 was identified as the main pathogen causing HFMD while other enteroviruses were the main pathogens causing HA. The incidence rate of fever associated with HA was higher than that observed in HFMD ( χ2=137.869, P<0.01). Patients with HA had a shorter interval from onset to treatment ( χ2=-8.422, P<0.01). Conclusions:The differences between HFMD and HA existed in age, gender, place of residence, population type, and dominant pathogens. It is recommended to implement targeted prevention measures and to strengthen etiological detection.