Aim: Necrotizing fasciitis (NF) caused by vibrio vulnificus infection is one of the most dangerous clinical emergencies.Its rapid progression and frequent complication of septic shock often lead to a high mortality of patients with this disease.How to improve their prognosis and survival remains a formidable emergency problem.Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on 16 patients with NF who had been admitted to the emergency center of our hospital from July 2004 to July 2010.These patients were diagnosed with vibrio vulnificus infection complicated with septic shock.Statistical analysis was used to examine the impact of clinical characteristics and therapeutic strategy on patient survival.Results: All 16 patients lived along the coast,of whom 62.5% were complicated with chronic liver diseases,whereas 81.25% had a history of ethanol abuse.Disease onset time was between May and November.Clinical characteristics of these patients included distinctive hemorrhagic bullous skin lesion,fascial necrosis,septic shock and multi-organ dysfunction,with the mortality of 37.5%.Rapidly progressive local swelling and pain,as well as skin superficial venous stasis,were the early presentations of NF caused by vibrio vulnificus.The results showed that comprehensive treatment,including emergency incision and drainage combined with elective debridement and skin graft on involved extremities could be beneficial to patient prognosis.A variety of factors might affect patient survival,including the interval between symptom appearance and hospital admission,muscle necrosis and the limb lesions progressing to the whole body.Conclusion: NF caused by vibrio vulnificus infection is a fatal condition with a high mortality.Recognition of the signs of local skin and tissue damage in early stage is crucial for early diagnosis.Emergency incision and drainage combined with elective debridement could improve the prognosis of patients with vibrio NF complicated with septic shock.