In order to understand whether there is an intrinsic association between chronic prostatitis (CP) and premature ejaculation (PE), this study investigated the occurrence of premature ejaculation in 233 patients with chronic prostatitis. Methods Two hundred and thirty-three patients with chronic prostatitis who attended the outpatient clinic of the Department of Urology and Male Medicine at Tianjin People’s Hospital from January 2009 to December 2010. The correlation between the two was sought by studying whether these patients had premature ejaculation associated with them. Results Among 233 patients with chronic prostatitis, the CPSI score and CISFPE score were decreasing in proportion from mild to severe, and there was a significant difference in the incidence of premature ejaculation in the ≤30 and 31-50 groups compared with the ≥51 group (P<0.01). A total of 97 cases were associated with premature ejaculation, with a prevalence of 41.6% (97/233), demonstrating a correlation between chronic prostatitis and premature ejaculation (chi-square value=35.99,P<0.01). Conclusion Chronic prostatitis was found to be correlated with premature ejaculation by this study. Therefore, during the diagnosis and treatment of chronic prostatitis, the sexual function status of patients should be emphasized and evaluated and treated accordingly, while the treatment of premature ejaculation should also carefully ask patients if they have symptoms of prostatitis and treat them at the same time to promote early recovery from the disease.