ObjectiveTo evaluate the effect of hand hygiene in the prevention of ventilatorassociated pneumonia (VAP) in neonates. MethodsBy combination of retrospective and prospective methods, the occurrence of VAP of neonates in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) was compared before and after the improvement of hand hygiene between 2004—2007. ResultsWhen the other conditions were not changed, the incidence of VAP reduced obviously from 30.00% (2004—2005) to 18.18%(2006—2007) after improving the hand washing method and facilities, there was significant difference between the two(χ2=9.44, P<0.01).ConclusionHand hygiene is an important process to prevent VAP, one of the key measures to reduce the occurrence of VAP are perfect hand washing methods and facilities and the compliance of health care workers.