Abstract Background People increasingly search online for health information. Particularly, parents of patients often use the Internet as a source for health information. We conducted a survey to investigate the online searching behavior of parents of patients 43 km) were more likely to search for health information (OR 2.3; 95% CI 1.34–4.00), as were families of patients undergoing a major surgery (OR = 2.1; 95% CI 1.04–4.11). Conclusions Parents of children undergoing surgery often search online for information on their child’s intervention, in particular those whose child is scheduled for a major surgery and those living far from the hospital. A survey like the present one allows to understand parents’ information needs, to better guide them in online information seeking and to better tailor information provided on the care provider’s website.