Unsignalized intersections with yield control or stop signs on the minor roads are one of the most common intersection types in the urban street systems in China. Good intersection design will promote traffic safety and efficient traffic operation. A poorly-operated unsignalized intersection may also cause serious traffic safety problems. Statistical crash data showed that in China 13,529 fatalities occurred at unsignalized intersections in 2005. Although lots of good safety design measures have been used to improve intersection safety and operation in recent years, some of them were not targeted at the safety problems and thus had little or negligible effects. However few researchers have explored the relationship of intersection design and safety in China. The objective of the paper was to identify the relationship of intersection design and the main crash reasons. Field studies were conducted at 96 selected intersections with yield control or stop signs on the minor roads to evaluate the safety design in Beijing’s urban streets. Nearly 410 crashes, occurring at these intersections in the last three years, were analyzed in detail in the paper. The behaviors of the road users (including drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians) were observed in different safety designs, which implied the relationship of intersection design and safety on urban streets. Based on the findings of crash reasons and defects of safety designs, the paper discussed some practical countermeasures to safety design for urban unsignalized intersections in China.