It has been shown that childhood trauma is associated with an increased risk of prodromal psychotic symptoms. However, research on the prevalence of prodromal psychotic symptoms among self-taught examination students and the relationship with childhood trauma remains limited. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of prodromal psychotic symptoms among self-taught examination students, explore the impact of childhood trauma on prodromal psychotic symptoms, and its underlying mechanisms. From January 5 to 18, 2024, a cross-sectional study was conducted on 670 self-taught examination students in Nantong University through the online survey platform "Wenjuanxing" ( www.wjx.cn ). These individuals completed the general information questionnaire, The childhood trauma questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF), The Prodromal Questionnaire-Brief (PQ-B), The Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21). Data analysis was carried out using SPSS 25.0 and the PROCESS macro. (1) The prevalence of prodromal psychotic symptoms in self-taught examination students was 20.6% (138/670); (2) The total effect of childhood emotional abuse and prodromal psychotic symptoms in self-taught examination students was 2.9859. The mediating effect of anxiety (effect value: 1.4611), depression (effect value: 0.6201), social support (effect value: - 0.1214), and health conditions (effect value: 0.1954) in the relationship between childhood emotional abuse and prodromal psychotic symptoms of self-taught examination students, accounts for 72.18% of the total effect. Childhood trauma can not only independently predict the risk of prodromal psychotic symptoms among self-taught examination students, but also predict the risk of prodromal psychotic symptoms indirectly by affecting anxiety, depression, social support, and health conditions. Targeted measures should be taken to reduce the prodromal psychotic symptoms in this neglected group of self-taught examination students.