Objective To review the application of trauma and injury severity score (TRISS) and a severity characterization of trauma (ASCOT) in the outcome evaluation of trauma care and their research advances.Data sources Both Chinese- and English-language literature searched by using MEDLINE/CD-ROM (1985-1996) and Index of Chinese-Language Literature (1985-1996).Study selection Over fifty papers and reviews published over the past ten years were selected.Results and conclusion TRISS can be employed for different purposes, that is, preliminary outcome-based evaluation (PRE) and definitive outcome-based evaluation (DEF). TRISS is a method which is now the most extensively used for the outcome evaluation of trauma. Even so, it still has some shortcomings, e.g., trauma can not be given the weights that should be given, and the section of age is too simple. ASCOT is also a physiologic and anatomic combined method for the evaluation of injury severity and outcome. To some extent, this method obviates the shortcomings of TRISS in the calculation of probability of survival (Ps) with injury severity score (ISS). Therefore, ASCOT is considered to be superior to TRISS in the evaluation of Ps. However, TRISS is still now more extensively used than ASCOT just because ASCOT was recently developed.