Abstract: Objective To investigate the implication of the model of end-stage liver disease（MELD）in assessment of short and middle term prognosis in patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis. Method 167 patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis admitted to our hospital were studied and followed up at least for one year. MELD and Child-Turcotte-Pugh（CTP）score were calculated at presentation. The receiver operation characteristic curves（ROC）and the area under ROC were used to determine the ability of predicting three，six and twelve month mortality. Result There were 23，42 and 66 dead cases at month 3，6 and 12，respectively；the MELD and CTP scores in dead were much higher than in survivals（P＜0.001）；the higher the MELD score，the higher risk the dead. Conclusion Both MELD and CTP scores can accurately predict the short and middle term prognosis of patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis.

Key words: Liver cirrhosis, The model of end-stage liver disease, Prognosis