Objective To explore the related factors of upper urinary tract deterioration (UUTD) in spinal cord injury patients using intermittent catheterization (IC-SCI) in the community. Methods Patients with spinal cord injury in the Chinese community were selected for investigation between August 3 and August 31, 2020. The included patients were divided into UUTD group and non-UUTD group. The basic information, intermittent catheterization practices, and urinary complications were compared between the two groups. Logistic regression was used to analyze the risk factors contributing to UUTD. Results A total of 431 patients were surveyed. Among them, there were 310 males and 121 females, 246 cases in the non-UUTD group and 185 cases in the UUTD group. There were statistically significant differences in the disease duration, gender, etiology, urinary incontinence, urinary tract infection, bladder calculi and nephrolithiasis between the two groups (P<0.05); there was no statistically significant difference in the other indicators between the two groups (P>0.05). The results of logistic regression analysis showed that urinary tract infection [odds ratio (OR)=3.229, 95% confidence interval (CI) (1.706, 6.110), P<0.001], nephrolithiasis [OR=4.846, 95%CI (2.617, 8.973), P<0.001], and urinary incontinence [OR=2.345, 95%CI (1.116, 4.925), P=0.024] were risk factors for UUTD. Conclusion Urinary tract infection, nephrolithiasis and urinary incontinence are independent risk factors for UUTD in community-based IC-SCI patients and deserve attention for preventive strategies.