Objective To investigate the relationship between sleep and suicidal ideation of officers and soldiers in a marine corps. Methods A total of 459 military personnels were investigated using a self-designed demographic questionnaire, Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) scale, self-rating depression scale (SDS), self-rating anxiety scale (SAS) and self-rating idea of suicide scale (SIOSS). Results A total of 459 questionnaires were sent out and 434 effective questionnaires were recovered, with an effective rate of 94.6%. The PSQI score of 434 military personnels was 5.85±3.37, and the SIOSS score was 7.05±3.98, the SDS score was 35.29±9.52, and the SAS score was 31.80±7.36. Suicidal ideation of the military personnels was positively correlated with sleep quality, difficulty in falling asleep, nocturnal wakefulness or early wakefulness and nightmare, while negatively correlated with sleep duration (all P<0.01). After controlling for general demographic factors (gender, age and education level), substance use conditions (smoking, drinking alcohol, drinking tea and drinking coffee), anxiety symptoms and depressive symptoms, the military personnels with poor sleep quality (β=0.289, P<0.01), difficulty in falling asleep (β=0.110, P=0.019) and higher education level (β=0.080, P=0.013) had stronger suicidal ideation. Conclusion Sleep quality and symptoms of difficulty in falling asleep are independent predictors of suicidal ideation in military personnels.