Objective To explore the effect of applying failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA) in the management of preventing inpatients from committing suicide in general hospitals. Methods Using FMEA management method，a multidisciplinary team (MDT) was set up, and the flow chart of inpatient suicide prevention was drawn. The possible failure modes in the process of suicide prevention management were scored in terms of severity, occurrence possibility and detection possibility. The risk priority number (RPN) was evaluated according to the hazard score matrix, and 5 failure modes with RPN＞125 were targeted for quality improvement interventions. RPN value and suicide rate of inpatients before and after implement of FMEA were compared. Results The overall RPN of 5 failure modes decreased from （238.96±67.03） points to (73.48±6.05) points. The suicide rate of inpatients decreased from 4.8/100,000 to 2.1/100,000. Conclusion Risk management based on FMEA can effectively reduce RPN of suicide risk of inpatients in general hospitals, and can identify and intervene suicidal inpatients early on, thus effectively ensuring patient safety.