Objective To understand the cognition and acceptance of community hemodialysis centers among hemodialysis patients in Yangzhou, and to provide theoretical basis for the development of community hemodialysis centers. Methods A cluster random sampling method was used to select 400 maintenance hemodialysis patients treated in various areas of Yangzhou in April 2021 for a questionnaire survey to analyze the influencing factors of patients’ medical treatment behavior. Results A total of 390 valid questionnaires were recovered, with an effective recovery rate of 97.50%. Among the patients, 40.51% were very concerned about the construction of hemodialysis centers in the community, 56.67% understood the relevant policies, and 56.92% of the patients were willing to choose the community for dialysis treatment. The results of logistic regression analysis showed that the main factors affecting whether patients choose community for hemodialysis treatment include the patients’ residence [Jiangdu vs. Guangling: odds ratio (OR)=7.183, 95% confidence interval (CI) (2.010, 25.674), P=0.002; Gaoyou vs. Guangling: OR=22.512, 95%CI (7.201, 70.373), P<0.001; Yizheng vs. Guangling: OR=25.137, 95%CI (7.636, 82.744), P<0.001; Baoying vs. Guangling: OR=23.784, 95%CI (7.795, 72.569), P<0.001], degree of concern [some concern vs. very concerned: OR=0.267, 95 %CI (0.137, 0.521), P<0.001; not very concerned vs. very concerned: OR=0.062, 95%CI (0.023, 0.168), P<0.001; not concerned vs. very concerned: OR=0.101, 95% CI (0.023, 0.439), P=0.002], awareness [somewhat know vs. know very well: OR=0.025, 95%CI (0.002, 0.318), P=0.004; don’t know very well vs. know very well: OR=0.035, 95%CI (0.003, 0.439), P=0.009; don’t know vs. know very well: OR=0.006, 95%CI (0.000, 0.084), P<0.001]. Conclusions Hemodialysis patients in Yangzhou have a low level of awareness and acceptance of community-based hemodialysis centers. The patients’ residence, degree of attention and awareness of community-based hemodialysis center directly affect whether they choose the community for treatment. The relevant departments and medical institutions can start from the factors that affect patients’ choice of medical treatment, further strengthen the publicity of community dialysis, optimize the allocation of medical resources, and improve the capacity of community health services.