To investigate the prevalence of insomnia in college students and analyze the correlation between insomnia and perceived stress. A cluster sampling method was used to investigate the prevalence of insomnia and stress levels in 3702 college students using Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) and Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10). Insomnia was detected in 31.4% of the college students, and the symptoms were more severe in male students ( =2.047, =0.041) and in those with poorer family economic conditions ( =20.423, <0.001). Insomnia was positively correlated with perceived stress, perceived distress, and perceived coping ability, with correlation coefficients of 0.42, 0.38, and 0.31, respectively ( <0.001). The students with higher levels of perceived stress had higher insomnia scores ( =203.03, <0.001) and higher detection rate of insomnia (χ =359.784, <0.001), and those with moderate or severe insomnia also had higher levels of perceived stress ( =293.569, <0.001). The types of perceived stress among college studen