HONG KONG — Chinese regulators have begun an investigation into the Internet giant Baidu after the death of a college student who said he received distorted information on cancer treatment from the company’s search engine.

The student, Wei Zexi, 21, from the central province of Shaanxi, died of synovial sarcoma, a rare form of cancer, on April 12. Before his death, he wrote a long post on a Chinese website that detailed his experience seeking treatment.

In a promoted search result on Baidu, he learned of a hospital in Beijing that offered treatment for people with his condition. His family borrowed money to raise the more than 200,000 renminbi, or about $30,000, to pay for a type of immunotherapy from the Second Hospital of the Beijing Armed Police Corps.

Mr. Wei’s form of cancer is generally treated with surgery and chemotherapy, and he accused Baidu of taking money to promote less proven treatments in its search results. After his death, the search company has been denounced online, with some people calling it by the similar sounding 百毒, or “100 poisons.”