A cross-sectional survey of 256 pediatricians in Hunan Province, China between October 2023 and April 2024 assessed knowledge and attitudes toward research ethics. The overall research ethics knowledge score was 70.55 and the attitude score was 92.87. Items on basic principles of medical ethics and situational judgment had the lowest knowledge scores. Factors affecting knowledge were level of education, professional title, presence of an ethics committee in the hospital and participation in training (F = 9.270, p < 0.001, R² = 18.3%). Factors influencing attitudes included number of clinical research projects completed, number of projects chaired, and training attended (F = 4.259, p < 0.001, R² = 7.80%). Pediatricians had a moderate level of knowledge but a predominantly positive attitude towards research ethics. Participation in the training affected both knowledge and attitudes.