Objective To explore the impact of hospital staff’s risk perception on their emergency responses, and provide reference for future responses to public health emergencies. Methods Based on participatory observation and in-depth interviews, the staff of the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University who participated in the prevention and control of the coronavirus disease 2019 from April to September 2020 were selected. The information on risk perception and emergency responses of hospital staff was collected. Results A total of 61 hospital staff were included. The positions of hospital staff were involved including hospital leading group, hospital office, medical department, logistics support department and outpatient isolation area. The interview results showed that both individual and organizational factors of hospital staff would affect the risk perception of hospital staff, thus affecting the emergency responses of hospital staff, mainly reflected in the psychological and behavioral aspects. Among them, their psychological reactions were manifested as more confidence, sensitivity, and sense of responsibility and mission; The behavior aspects was mainly reflected in the initiation time, execution ability, and standardization level of emergency responses actions. Conclusion Therefore, relevant departments should pay attention to the risk perception of hospital staff, improve the risk perception and emergency responses of hospital staff by influencing the individual and organizational factors of hospital staff, so as to respond more effectively to future public health emergencies and reduce the adverse impact of public health emergencies on the work of hospital staff.