Objective To investigate the usefulness of Utstein template to guide the assessment and study of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in our medical practice because it has been popularized in many countries since 1991.Methods A prospective observational study using Utstein CPR registry form to evaluate the epidemiological features and outcomes of 511 patients resuscitated in the emergency department.Results Of 511 CPR patients registered,higher cardiac arrest rates were observed in the group of patients aged 40- 70 years. In 511 CPR patients registered,preexisting chronic diseases were common including cardiovascular diseases ( 190,37.2％ ) cerebrovascular diseases (48,9.4％ ) and respiratory diseases (39,7.6％ ).Of them,173 cardiac arrest patients (33.9％) had underlying cardiac causes,such as acute myocardial infarction (AMI) found in 109 (21.3％) patients,and ventricular fibrillation witnessed during first cardiac monitoring in eighty ( 15.7％ ) patients.The restoration of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) rate and survival rate at discharge of in - hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) patients were 47.0％ and 13.5％respectively,but 16.7％ and 4.7％ respectively in the out - hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients (P ＜0.01,both ). Conclusions This study indicated that the cardiovascular diseases, cerebrovascular diseases,and respiratory diseases were the most common preexisting chronic diseases found in cardiac arrest patients.Myocardial infarct,stroke and trauma were the most common precipitation causes of cardiac arrest in the recruited patients.The rates of ROSC and survival at discharge were significantly higher in statistics in patients with IHCA than those in ones with OHCA.