Objective To explore the hazards and protective factors among imaging characteristics in patients with malignant pulmonary nodules. Methods We used non-conditional logistic regression to analyze the risk factors as well as the protective factors of malignant pulmonary nodules among imaging characteristics based on the odds ratio (OR) and its 95% confidence interval (95%CI) after adjusting confounding factors in patient information. All the data were obtained from 454 patients with pulmonary nodules, in which 312 were malignant and the rest were benign. Results The confounding factors with significant difference in patient information included elder age (≥55: OR=4.112; ≥75: OR=3.616), a precious history of tumors(OR=3.206). By adjusting those confounders, the risk factors of patients with malignant pulmonary nodules were lymphadenectasis (OR=2.734, 95%CI:1.257-5.946), diameters bigger or equal to 2 centimeters (OR=10.477, 95%CI: 2.229-49.251), ground glass opacity(OR=14.569, 95%CI:3.320-63.928), rough edges (OR=3.113, 95%CI:1.632- 5.939), lobulation (OR=4.508, 95%CI: 2.326-8.736), nodules with an area of air (OR=5.173, 95%CI:1.920-13.940), pleural indentation (OR=2.076, 95%CI:1.078-3.999), while the protective factor including calcification (OR=0.208, 95%CI:0.091-0.479). Conclusions While focusing on the patients who were older or had a precious history of tumors, attention also should be paid to signs of lymphadenectasis, bigger nodule size, grand glass opacity, rough edges, lobulation, nodules with an area of air, pleural indentation and without calcification in the chest radiography.