Objective To analyze patients with acute chest pain as their chief complaint in order to improve our capability of early identifying and diagnosing high-risk patients,give them proper treatment in time and avoid misdiagnosis and improper treatment. Methods The clinical data of 813 patients with chest pain as their chief complaint admitted in the emergency department and critical care medicine department in Guangdong Provincial Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital from January to December in 2011 were retrospectively analyzed. According to the process of diagnosis and treatment formulated by the chest pain center,all the patients must immediately finish the first electrocardiograph(EEC)examination in 10 minutes and the relevant blood biochemical examinations within 30 minutes after admission. Results In accordance with the relevant examinations,the confirmed diagnoses were as follows:there were 276 cases of unstable angina,accounting for 33.95%;145 cases of stable angina,17.84%;121 cases of acute myocardial infarction,14.88%;103 cases of respiratory system disease,12.67%;78 cases of skeletal muscle disease,9.59%;46 cases of the digestive system disease,5.66% and the high-risk non cardiac chest pain(such as aortic dissection/rupture of tumor or acute pulmonary embolism)12 cases,1.48%.Seven hundred and eighty-five patients finished the first EEC examination in 10 minutes,and 147 patients completed the chest computed tomography(CT)scan within an hour. Conclusions Acute chest pain is a common symptom in emergency department. It is necessary to identify the high-risk patients according to a process as soon as possible in order to get an accurate diagnosis and an effective treatment in time.