Abstract: Objective  To explore how medical students understand critical thinking and its influencing factors. Methods  Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 15 undergraduate students in clinical medicine using semi-structured in-depth interviews. The researchers first asked medical students how they understood the critical thinking. After explaining the concepts related to critical thinking to medical students, the medical students were asked about the importance of critical thinking and the influencing factors of critical thinking. The whole process of the interview process was recorded. It was transcribed within one week and the data were analyzed using traditional content analysis. Results  The results include three categories: the medical students^, recognition of the concept of critical thinking, the medical students^, recognition of the importance of critical thinking, and the medical students^, recognition of the factors affecting medical students^, critical thinking. It can be summarized into three categories: individual factors (life experience, interests and specialties, and personality characteristics), family factors (parental rearing style, family atmosphere, and family socioeconomic status) and medical education factors (teacher style, teaching methods, and practical activities). Conclusion  Medical students^, recognition of critical thinking is still vague. However, most of them agree on the importance of critical thinking to their future career development. The critical thinking of medical students is influenced by factors such as individual factors and family rearing methods. Problem Based Learning, participatory practice, and teachers^, personal style can promote the students^, critical thinking formation.

Key words: medical students,  critical thinking,  medical education, qualitative