This paper explores the changes and influencing factors of public environmental awareness in China using data from the Chinese Social Survey (CSS) in 2006, 2013 and 2019. It was found that: 1) Chinese public environmental awareness showed a significant increase in 2013 and 2019 compared to 2006. 2) The increase in personal income is an important factor influencing public environmental awareness; 3) There are significant intergenerational differences in public environmental awareness. The younger generation is more environmentally conscious than the older generation, showing distinctive characteristics of post-materialist values. 4) Educational attainment has a significant positive effect on public environmental awareness. The results of this study show that with China’s economic and social development, the public has shifted from a preference for economic growth to a focus on environmental protection, and the Chinese public’s environmental awareness has shifted from materialism to post-materialism. In order to improve the effectiveness of China’s environmental protection policies, it is important to respond to this change in the Chinese public’s environmental awareness.