Objective: This study was conducted to evaluate pre- and intraoperative risk factors for 30-day mortality in patients with acute type A aortic dissection (ATAAD). Methods: Three hundred thirteen patients with ATAAD who underwent emergency surgery (264 men and 49 women; mean age, 48±10 years) were enrolled in our study. Preoperative and operative risk factors for death were presented. Multivariable analysis was performed to identify the influence of varying factors on 30-day mortality. Results: Overall, 32 patients (10.2%) died within 30 days. Compared with the surviving group, the deceased patients were more likely to have tachycardia, elevated serum potassium levels, moderate to severe pericardial effusion, suprasternal branch involvement, myocardial ischemia, and lower-extremity ischemia. Regarding factors related to surgery, the duration of surgery and cardiopulmonary bypass and concomitant procedures of coronary artery bypass graft（CABG） were greater in patients who died. In multivariate analysis, independent risk factors were longer duration of surgery (odds ratio [OR]: 4.5, p=0.001) and cardiopulmonary bypass (OR: 5.3, p=0.001), moderate to severe pericardial effusion (OR: 3.3, p=0.017), suprasternal branch involvement (OR: 4.9，p=0.002), and lower-extremity ischemia (OR: 7.6, p＜0.001). Conclusions: Lower-extremity ischemia and suprasternal branch involvement have the poorest outcomes. Moderate to severe pericardial effusion could influence the outcome. Shorter duration of surgery is associated with better outcomes. Key Words: acute type A aortic dissection, surgery, mortality, risk factors