Abstract: Objective: To evaluate surgical treatment of acute arterial ischemia of the lower extremity and the approach to reducing the complications.Methods: Forty-seven cases of arterial embolism or thrombosis were analyzed retrospectively.Forty-two cases received surgery in addition to thrombolytic therapy,anti-coagulation and vasodilatation,and 5 cases were treated with drugs only.Results: The extremities of 32 cases were saved,11 cases were amputated,4 cases died and 5 cases receiving drug treatment had chronic ischemia.Conclusions: Early diagnosis and proper management are essential to the prognosis of acute arterial ischemia of the lower extremity.