Objective To explore the influence of footwear and barefoot on movement coordination of the lower extremities and metatarsophalangeal (MP) joints during push off phase in typical lunge footwork of badminton, so as to provide theoretical basis for scientific training of badminton, as well as choice and development of badminton shoes. Methods Male badminton elites were recruited and required to perform the typical push-off footwork in playing badminton under two shod conditions (commercial badminton footwear and a prototype) and the barefoot condition. A Vicon motion capture system and a high-speed video camera were simultaneously employed to collect the kinematics and coordination characteristics of the hip, knee, ankle and MP joints during the push-off stage of the lunge step. Results (1) No substantial difference was found in joint kinematics of the lower extremities during push-off stage for wearing two types of badminton shoes adopted in this study. Compared with barefoot, wearing badminton shoes could increase the angular velocity of ankle and MP joints to some extent and significantly decrease the time of peak angular velocity occurrence in each joint; (2) With respect to characteristics of movement coordination, the hip, knee, ankle and MP joints were accelerating successively in a proximal-to-distal way during push-off under three foot-shoe conditions. Conclusions Footwear can provide the dynamic source during push-off, and contribute to improve the velocity and effects of push off in order to enhance performance. The movement coordination of the lower extremities during push off in the lunge step is more inclined to be a rational combination of sequence and synchronization. Consequently, more attention should be paid to the speed/strength training of the ankle and MP joints.