Abstract: Objectives: Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is an effective approach for patients with severe coronary artery disease, which has a relatively high mortality rate. The aim of the present study was to identify the perioperative factors that are significantly associated with short-term mortality among patients undergoing isolated CABG. Methods: From Jun 2008 to Dec 2012, patients undergoing isolated CABG in Nanjing First Hospital were included. They were observed for a period of 30 days, and pre-, intra- and postoperative variables were used to identify significant predictors of mortality. Results: A total of 2,808 consecutive patients who underwent isolated CABG surgery were reviewed. The overall short-term mortality rate was 1.5% (42 out of 2,808)．Multivariate logistic regression analyses showed that female sex (P=0.0013, OR=0.2577, 95% CI 0.1128~0.5889), ejection fraction (EF) (P=0.0247, OR=0.9617, 95% CI 0.9294~0.9950), lactic acid (P<.0001, OR=1.3115, 95% CI 1.1809~1.4566) and more blood units transfused (P<0.001, OR=1.1606, 95% CI 1.1128~1.2105) were associated with short-term mortality among patients who underwent CABG. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that the area under the curve was 0.8566 (95% CI 0.7786~0.9347). Conclusions: The overall mortality was relatively high, and female sex, lower EF, high levels of lactic acid and more blood units transfused were independent factors associated with mortality, whereas beta-blockers and other agents were not associated with better survival.