Selecting 300 small and medium-sized enterprises as sample, this paper analyzes the influence of the background characteristics of enterprise managers on credit risk. The results show that managers’age, educational background and tenure are significantly positively related to corporate credit risk. Grouped according to the region where the enterprise is registered, the study shows the educational background and tenure of enterprises managers in the eastern region are positively related to credit risk, while the gender and age of managers in the central and western regions have a significant impact on credit risk. After further distinguishing the property right, it is found that the sex, age, educational background and tenure of the managers are significantly related to the credit risk of the non-state-owned enterprises, which is different from the state-owned holding enterprises. The conclusions of this paper not only provide support for SMEs to control credit risk, but also provide basis for credit rating of financial institutions which emphasize the reputation of managers.