Background: Preliminary empirical findings on student health literacy generated by universities in Fulda and Bochum indicate that more than one student in two experiences difficulties in accessing, understanding, appraising and using information relevant to health. Yet there are very few national studies taking account of social differences in university student health literacy. Objectives: Measurement of student’s health literacy and identification of social characteristics associated with health literacy. Materials and methods: The standardized survey including 996 students was conducted during the summer semester 2018 at the Technical University of Dortmund. Health literacy was measured by the health literacy short version HLS-EU-Q16. In addition, social characteristics were examined (e.g. migrant background, financial situation, subjective social status, social support). Health literacy was analysed by uni-, bi- and multivariate (binary logistic regression) analysis. Results: Of the surveyed students, 58.5% reported limited health literacy. Percentage frequency for limited health literacy was highest for young students aged 18 to 20 years, who considered their current financial situation as not sufficient, reported a low subjective social status (SSS) and low social support (SU) compared to older students with sufficient financial resources, high SSS and high SU. Conclusions: According to the results, students can be considered as a relevant target group due to the high proportion of limited health literacy and therefore ought to be sampled in future representative research on health literacy. There is also a need to establish appropriate measures for health promotion and prevention, including social support services in the university setting.