Objective To investigate the influence of combined spinal-epidural anesthesia and general anesthesia on short-term cogni-tive function of elderly patients with lacunar infarction after surgery.Methods A total of 50 patients with lacunar infarction who underwent abdominal surgery in our hospital from June 2012 to December 2013 were selected as the research object,who were divided into spinal-epi-dural anesthesia group (combined group)and general anesthesia group (general group).The incidence of postoperative cognitive dysfunction of two groups were observed and compared.The mini-mental state examination(MMSE)and Montreal cognitive Assessment(MoCA)were used to evaluated the cognitive function before and postoperative 1 day.Results The probability of postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD)of combined group and the general group were 12% and 32%,respectively,and the POCD probability of combined group was lower than that of general group,the difference was significant(P <0.05).The MMSE score and MoCA score at postoperative 1 day of two groups were lower than those before anesthesia,the difference was significant(P <0.05).The MMSE score and MoCA score of combined group at postoperative 1 day were lower than that of general group,the difference was significant(P <0.05).Conclusion The anesthesia can cause a certain cognitive dysfunction for elderly patients with lacunar infarction,while the spinal-epidural anesthesia can reduce the incidence rate of POCD compared anesthesia.