Objective To find the current situation of online learning as well as emotional state of medical students in different grade groups during COVID-19 pandemic,and put forward suggestions for improving network learning through optimize the online courses. Methods The method of questionnaire was adopted. A total of 284 medical students from Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of science and technology, who completed the online questionnaire from March 5 to March 7, 2020, were selected as the research objects. The data were analyzed by Mann Whitney U test, chi square test and logistic regression method. Results The scores of anxiety and tension [1.0 (1.0), 2.0 (2.0)], irregular learning [2.0 (2.0), 2.0 (2.0)] and other psychological and life states of the students in the teaching grade group and the internship grade group were statistically significant (P < 0.05). There are 85.9% (244/284) of the students thought that the biggest advantage of online learning was not been limited by the venue, but there was significant difference between the students from teaching grade group and the students from internship grade group [58.5% (166/284), 27.5% (78/284)] (P< 0.05). The most recognized and favorite online course platform for students is recorded and broadcast course platform [72.2% (205/284)]. High quality network resources (OR=5.64, 95% CI=1.21~26.43) and experience in online courses (OR=1.88,95%CI=1.05~3.38) can significantly improve students' acceptance of online learning. Conclusions Students in different grades vary with psychological and living conditions, cognitive advantages of online learning, preference of online course platform; students with different resources have different acceptance of online learning. The needs of students in should be well evaluated and so to provide them with high-quality network resources and teaching materials.