Objective <p>Under the background of the “Healthy China 2030” plan, this study explores the relationship between social mobility and residents’ health, and also examines the mediating effect of subjective well-being on this relationship.</p> Methods <p>Based on the 2017 and 2021 Chinese General Social Survey data, three regression methods, namely OLS regression, ordered logit regression, and binary logit regression, are used to analyze the impact of social mobility on residents’ health. Bootstrap and KHB methods are used to test the mediating effect of subjective well-being.</p> Results <p>The empirical results of the three regression models indicate that there are significant positive relationships between social mobility and both physical and mental health of residents. The mediating role of subjective well-being in the impact of social mobility on physical health accounts for 35.944-63.232%. Similarly, it accounts for 43.298-57.324% in the impact on mental health.</p> Conclusion <p>These findings underscore the importance of social mobility and subjective well-being in enhancing the health of residents. Policy-makers should consider these factors in future policy development to achieve the objectives of the “Healthy China 2030” plan.</p>