Based on the hourly precipitation data of 257 densified rainfall stations in Handan City from 2016 to 2021, the threshold value of short-term heavy rainfall (≥20.0 mm/h) is determined based on the sorting method, and the spatial and temporal distribution characteristics of summer short-term heavy rainfall in Handan are analyzed. The results show that there were 16.3 events of short-term heavy rainfall in Handan City on average, specifically, 17.5 events in the mountainous area and 15.6 events in the plain area, which mainly occurred from mid July to mid August. The areas with high rainfall intensity scattered in the south central part of the mountainous area, and the north and southwest part of the plain area. The extreme value of rain intensity in the plain was 125.2 mm/h (Fengzheng Township, Jize County) and 123.1 mm/h (Taoquan Township, Cixian County) in the mountainous area. The precipitation corresponding to 50%, 75%, 95%, 99% and 99.5% quartile of hourly rainfall intensity were 27.8, 36.1, 56.5, 80.4 and 94.9 mm respectively. The diurnal variation of short-term heavy rainfall was characterized by “double peaks”, with the highest peak at 17:00-21:00 and the secondary peak at 5:00-9:00. The probability of short-term heavy rainfall at a single station was the highest.