Objective To investigate the incidence, diagnosis and treatment of complications after endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), and to explore the ways of prevention. Methods Clinical data of 930 subjects, in which 510 were older than 60, with cholangiopancreatic diseases who underwent ERCP in the past 2 years were retrospectively analyzed. Results Success rate of ERCP was 96.34% (896/930),and the postoperative complication incidence was 7.85% (73/930). Of all the complications, there were 42 cases of acute pancreatitis, among which 1 was accompanied with biliary tract infection, 4 cases of duodenum perforation, 6 delayed hemorrhage, 2 cardiac dilacerations bleeding, and 19 biliary tract infection (5 combined with infectious shock). All subjects with complications were cured except for 2 deaths. Conclusion ERCP is a safe and effective method for elderly patients. However, due to decreased organ functions and other underlying diseases, complications after ERCP in elderly patients are usually difficult to manage. The key factors in prevention of complications after ERCP includes in obedience to indications, improvement in procedure skills, treatment of accompanied diseases before and after ERCP, and active management of complications.