Objectives To investigate changes of clinical features of aortic dissection (AD) in recent yeats in Guangzhou.Methods Retrospective analysis of consecutive patients with AD over 10 years in Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute.Demographic features and outcomes in cases presenting with acute dissection were compared between patients admitted in two five-year periods.Results 339 patients with AD were admitted during the recent ten years.Their mean age was 55.7±11.2 years.Male verse female ratio was 4.8.Surgery was performed in 37% of cases with acute type A and 7% with acute type B dissection.Apart from a fast increase in number of patients admitted each year,there were no significant changes in demographic characteristics over these ten years.Survival of patients with acute dissection showed a trend of improvement,though it had not been statistically confirmed.Conclusions The number of admitted patients with AD has been fast increasing in Guangzhou.These patients were about ten years younger than previously reported by foreign researchers.Surgery was much less frequently performed than it was in weste countries.Survival in acute cases showed a trend of improvement.These data support urgent improvement in prevention and management of aortic dissection.