Objective To identify the risk factors for postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD).in the elderly patients requiring general anesthesia.Methods Three hundred elderly patients,aged 65-80 yr,scheduled for thoracic or abdominal surgery under general anesthesia,were enrolled in this study.Cognitive function was assessed by Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) at 1 day before operation and 3 days after operation.The patients were diagnosed as having POCD if MMSE ＜ 21.The patients were assigned into POCD and non-POCD group.The general data,fasting plasma glucose,glycosylated hemoglobin (HbAlc) and blood pressure were measured.If there was no significant difference between the 2 groups,the factor was analyzed using logistic regression to select the risk factor for the incidence of POCD.Results Ninety-eight patients developed POCD (32.7 ％).Logistic regression model showed that older age,diabetes and hypertension were independent risk factors for POCD (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion Older age,diabetes and hypertension are independent risk factors for POCD in the elderly patients requiring general anesthesia.