Enterocytozoon bieneusi
and
Cryptosporidium
spp. are important pathogens causing diarrhea in humans and animals. However, few studies have been conducted on the infection of
E. bieneusi
and
Cryptosporidium
spp. in peafowl up to now. The purpose of the present study was to determine the prevalence and the involved genotypes of
Cryptosporidium
spp. and
E. bieneusi
in peafowl in Beijing and Jiangxi Province, China. In total, 258 peafowl fecal samples were collected. Overall, both
Cryptosporidium
spp. and
E. bieneusi
had the same prevalence, i.e. 6.59% (17/258). Higher infection rates of
E. bieneusi
and
Cryptosporidium
spp. were found in the adolescent peafowl. The prevalence of
E. bieneusi
in Beijing and Jiangxi Province was 5.23% and 8.57% respectively. For
Cryptosporidium
spp., the prevalence was 4.58% and 9.52% in Beijing and Jiangxi Province, respectively. Three zoonotic genotypes of
E. bieneusi
were confirmed, including two known genotypes, genotype Peru 6 and D, and one novel genotype, JXP1. Two avian specific species/genotypes of
Cryptosporidium
, Avian genotype Ⅲ and Goose genotype Ⅰ, were identified. To our knowledge, this is the first report of
E. bieneusi
and
Cryptosporidium
spp. occurrence in peafowl in China. The findings suggest that peafowl could be reservoirs of
E. bieneusi
and
Cryptosporidium
spp. which could be potentially transmitted to humans and other animals, and the present survey have implications for controlling
E. bieneusi
and
Cryptosporidium
spp. infection in peafowl.