Background & objectives: Decisions and actions which people make about their lifestyle behaviors are effected by their level of health literacy. Low health literacy is associated with limited knowledge about cancer screening and lack of desire to do it. This study aimed to determine the level of health literacy and its relationship with cancer screening behaviors among employees of Guilan university of medical sciences.

Methods: In this descriptive-analytic and cross-sectional study, 186 office personnel of Guilan University of Medical Sciences were selected during the year of 2015. Data were collected by using a questionnaire consisted of three parts; demographic, cancer screening behavior and health literacy (HELIA). Data were analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics in SPSS 20.0.

Results: The result showed that 116 personnel were female (63.3%) and 148 of them was married (82.2%). Levels of health literacy of 106 participants (57%) were good and 80 of them (43%) had moderate health literacy. Significant statistical relationships between health literacy and education level (p=0.03), insurance coverage (p=0.04) and history of Pap testing (p=0.04) were seen.

Conclusions: According to the results, the health literacy level of office staffs of Guilan University of Medical Sciences was good and moderate and personnel with a higher education level and covered by supplemental insurance had higher health literacy. Moreover, women with good health literacy performed Pap test screening more than others. Informing the personnel with cancer screening tests by efficient workshops and health promotion programs can be effective steps in promoting health literacy of people.