Objective To investigate the epidemiology and causes of skin diseases in marine-training soldiers stationed in east coastal areas of China under the military training environment in new period, and to propose measures for prevention and treatment. Methods Multi-stage sampling including cluster sampling, stratified sampling and simple random sampling were used to select 768 marine-training soldiers stationed in the east coastal areas of China. They were surveyed by a questionnaire and received physical examination of skin diseases before diagnosing and prescribing by attending physicians. Logistic multiple regression analysis was used to analyze the relationship between skin diseases and the possible causes of skin diseases. Results A total of 696 (90.63%) valid questionnaires were collected, and the participants ranged in age from 17-32 years old. It was found that 349 (50.14%) soldiers had skin diseases, which fell into 34 types, with a total of 755 onsets, mainly infectious skin diseases (565 onsets, 74.83%). The incidence of skin diseases among marine-training soldiers was related to climate, environment, training conditions, and eating habits, and the causes of the disease were complicated. Conclusion The incidence of skin diseases among marine-training soldiers is high and has many influencing factors. More efforts should be made for promoting knowledge of skin disease prevention, scientific military training, better living condition and habit, more careful medical service, and provision of new drugs to reduce skin diseases among the soldiers.