OBJECTIVE: To investigate the influence of physical exercise on insomnia and suicide among college students. METHODS: A total of 8095 college students in Changsha were selected by cluster sampling and investigated with self-made general condition scale, physical activity scale and Athens insomnia scale. The multivariate Logistic regression analysis was used to explore the risk factors of insomnia and suicide among college students. RESULTS: A total of 1859 college students (22.9%) were found to have insomnia behaviors. Of these, 763 (41%) and 1096 (59%) undergraduates had suicidal thoughts. The results of multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that physical disease history, smoking, alcohol consumption, suicidal ideation, suicidal attempt and physical activity ( < 0.05) were all the independent influencing factors for insomnia among college students. Gender, physical disease history, suicide plan, suicide attempt, and physical activity ( < 0.05) were the independent influencing factors of suicidal ideation in insomnia college students. CONCLUSION: The detection rate of suicidal ideation is high in insomnia college students. Physical disease history, suicide attempt and physical activity may be the related factors of suicidal ideation. Physical activity was the influencing factor of college students' insomnia behavior, and heavy exercise was the independent protection factor of college students' insomnia behavior. At the same time, heavy exercise was a protective factor for insomnia college students with suicidal ideation.