The number of migrant workers from the countryside to cities has kept increasing in the course of urbanization, and they have become a component of urban poverty. Using data from the 2010 China Urban Labor Survey (CULS), this paper discusses the poverty of migrant workers on a wide range of dimensions, including income, living consumption, housing, social insurance and children’s education. It analyzes the determining factors of poverty and makes a comparison with urban residents, and finds that poverty incidence calculated based on permanent population is slightly lower of migrant workers than that of urban residents, but it may be underestimated. Labor income takes a lion’s share (more than 95%) in migrant workers’ total income, and they may easily fall into poverty after losing their job and income. Their level of education, employment or unemployment have a significant impact on their poverty status, which is unsettling in terms of living consumption, housing, social insurance and children’s education. As migrant workers are consistently excluded from the scope of minimum living allowance, how to incorporate them in that system and make the allowance more targeted and efficient is a key challenge for the government.