Background Intentional injuries refer to injuries resulting from purposeful human action, whether directed at oneself or others. This study was performed to assess intentional injuries in Iranian university students. Methods This cross-sectional study was carried out with 430 female and male university in three higher education institutions located in the northern part of Iran in the year 2015. Samples were chosen through the stratified cluster random sampling method. They were requested to fill out the demographic data form and the Persian version of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey Questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis via the SPSS v.13 software. Findings Intentional injuries were more frequent in the male university students than female (p < 0.05). Also, 9.1% and 6.7% of the university students were physically injured or sexually assaulted by a boy/girl friend. No statistically significant difference was reported in dating violence between the male and female university students. The logistic regression test showed that the history of stealing money from parents without their permission, son's preferences in the family and gender are the most important predisposing factors for the university students' intentional injury. Conclusion It is suggested that health policy makers consider the role of family in programs that have been designed for improving the health of young people.