Objective To investigate the differences in medical history and clinical features between chronic migraine (CM) and episodic migraine (EM) and the risk factors for chronicity of migraine, and to provide reference and strategies for prevention and treatment.Methods A retrospective analysis was performed for the clinical data of 72 patients with CM and 109 patients with EM who attended Department of Neurology, Xiangya Hospital of Central South University. Basic information was collected; a univariate analysis was performed to screen out the indices with statistical significance, and then a correlation analysis and an unconditional multivariate logistic regression analysis were performed.Results The univariate analysis showed that there were significant differences between the two groups in body mass index (BMI) (P=0.000), course of disease (P=0.000), frequency of headache at baseline (P=0.000), duration of headache at baseline (P=0.037), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) (P=0.000), Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) score (P=0.000), and Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) score (P=0.001). The logistic regression analysis showed that BMI (odds ratio[OR]=1.468, 95% confidence interval[CI]:1.148-1.876), course of disease (OR=1.102, 95%CI:1.022-1.188), frequency of headache at baseline (OR=1.461, 95%CI:1.247-1.711), sleep quality (OR=1.494, 95%CI:1.198-1.864), and anxiety status (OR=1.201, 95%CI:1.048-1.376) were risk factors for chronicity of migraine.Conclusions Weight control, timely treatment to reduce the frequency of headache attacks and shorten the course of disease, and improvement of mood and sleep quality may delay the chronic progression of migraine.