purpose: this study examines chinese college students' awareness of ethical issues surrounding the use of information resources and the internet and their attitude to these issues.

design/methodology/approach: a survey was conducted. two hundred questionnaires were distributed to students of 9 universities at different levels in tianjin, china; 171 were returned. descriptive statistics were performed to analyze the data.

findings: the results indicate that chinese college students usually ignored the negative influence of fake or pornographic or other indecent information, invasion of privacy and theft of confidential information, and violation of intellectual property rights. although they could distinguish to some extent between ethical and unethical behavior, they were not concerned about others' unethical behavior on the web. the study also indicates that gender, age, academic major and expertise in using computers were related to the students' awareness of ethical issues relating to the use of the internet and their attitude to these issues.

research limitations: the sample is limited to the universities in tianjin. a larger sample, which includes colleges and universities in the western or other developing areas in china, is needed to further validate our findings.

practical implications: the study helps educators and academic librarians better understand chinese college students' awareness of and attitude to ethical issues surrounding the use of the internet. it thus could assist them in the improvement of information ethics education for college students.

originality/value: this study was one of the first empirical studies to investigate the factors influencing chinese college students' awareness of and attitude to internet ethical issues.

purpose: this study examines chinese college students' awareness of ethical issues surrounding the use of information resources and the internet and their attitude to these issues.

design/methodology/approach: a survey was conducted. two hundred questionnaires were distributed to students of 9 universities at different levels in tianjin, china; 171 were returned. descriptive statistics were performed to analyze the data.

findings: the results indicate that chinese college students usually ignored the negative influence of fake or pornographic or other indecent information, invasion of privacy and theft of confidential information, and violation of intellectual property rights. although they could distinguish to some extent between ethical and unethical behavior, they were not concerned about others' unethical behavior on the web. the study also indicates that gender, age, academic major and expertise in using computers were related to the students' awareness of ethical issues relating to the use of the internet and their attitude to these issues.

research limitations: the sample is limited to the universities in tianjin. a larger sample, which includes colleges and universities in the western or other developing areas in china, is needed to further validate our findings.

practical implications: the study helps educators and academic librarians better understand chinese college students' awareness of and attitude to ethical issues surrounding the use of the internet. it thus could assist them in the improvement of information ethics education for college students.

originality/value: this study was one of the first empirical studies to investigate the factors influencing chinese college students' awareness of and attitude to internet ethical issues.