Objective To evaluate the association between oral hygiene and tongue cancer. Methods A case-control study including 243 patients with pathologically confirmed tongue cancer and 1046 controls with frequency matched by age and gender were performed in Fujian province from December 2010 to December 2015. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratio(OR)and corresponding 95% confidence interval(CI)between oral hygiene and tongue cancer. Results Tooth loss(the number of teeth were 20～27 and ＜20), bad prosthesis and repetitive oral ulcer significantly increased the risk of tongue cancer, the corresponding OR were 1.78(95%CI:1.24～2.55), 3.02(95%CI:1.93～4.73), 1.95(95%CI:1.41～2.70), 4.17(95%CI:2.49～6.99), respectively. On the contrary, tooth brushing frequency(1 time/day and ≥2 times/day), oral health care(2～4 years/times and ≤1 year/time)were associated with decreased risk of tongue cancer, the corresponding OR were 0.26(95%CI:0.14～0.49), 0.14(95%CI:0.07～0.26), 0.45(95%CI:0.25～0.82), 0.37(95%CI:0.17～0.79). Conclusions Oral hygiene has an effect on the incidence of tongue cancer. Increase in frequency of tooth brushing and oral health care, and improving the poor oral hygiene can reduce the risk of tongue cancer to a certain extent.