Objective To quantitatively assess left ventricular global systolic and diastolic function using volume-time curves (VTC) by real-time three-dimensional echoeardiography(RT-3DE).Methods Ninty-eight subjects were divided into four groups.Group A consisted of twenty-eight normal subject,group B included twenty-four patients with hypertensive(HTN), group C consisted of twenty-four patients with coronary artery disease(CAD) and group D of twenty-two patients having dilated cordiomyopathy (DCM).Participants were selected undergoing full volume RT-3DE.The global and 17-segmental VTCs were obtained by the off-line Qlab software.The end-diastolic volume(EDV), end-systolic volume(ESV) and ejection fraction(EF) were derived from VTCs.The peak ejection rate(PER),peak early filling rate (PFR),PER/EDV and PFR/EDV were calculted.Results EDV and ESV of group B,C and D was significantly larger than that of group A(all P < 0.05), EF and PER/EDV of group C and D significantly lower than those of group A.There were close correlation between PER/EDV and EF ( r=0.694, P＜0.05).Comparison of VTC pattern of HTN,CAD and DCM with that of healthy participants revealed the loss of symmetry of systolic and diastolic pattern.Conclusions Generation of VTCs by RT3DE is a promising approach to evaluate left ventricular global systolic and diastolic function.PER/EDV and PFR/EDV may be potential parameters for assessing left ventricular global systolic and diastolic function.