Two hundred and twenty patients with hypertensive basal ganglia hemorrhage (HBGH)undergoing cranial drilling operation and placement of soft catheter for drainage were enrolled.Among all patiems,the operation was performed at ≤6 h of disease onset in 92 cases (ultra-early group),6-24 h in 74 cases (early group) and ＞ 24 h in 54 cases (selective group).The surgery-related complications,nearterm outcome and long-term outcome were compared among three groups.In ultra-early group,recurrent hemorrhage was observed in 26 cases (28％),which was higher than that in other two groups.In selective group,there were 11 cases (20 ％) of well recovered,19 cases (35％) of moderate deformity,16 cases (30％) of severe deformity,5 cases(9％) of vegetative state and 3 fatal cases(6％) indicating that the nearterm outcome was worse than those other two groups.However there was no significant difference in longterm outcome among three groups.The rapid minimal invasive cranial drilling and soft catheter drainage is a safe and effective operation for HBGH patients and the optimal time for operation is 6-24 hours.