ObjectiveTo evaluate the effect of chlorhexidine gargle on respiratory tract infection (RTI) in patients following general anesthesia. MethodsFrom January 2012 to June 2013，94 patients who received general anesthesia for removal of vertebral disc were randomly divided into two groups, with 47 cases in each group，control group gargled with normal saline，observation group accepted 2% chlorhexidine gargle. The occurrence of RTI and detection of pharynx pathogens of two groups were compared. ResultsThe incidence of RTI in observation group and control group was 8.51%（n=4）and 23.40%（n=11） respectively（χ2= 12.95，P＜0.05）. 4 patients in observation group were detected 4 isolates of pathogens, 11 patients in control group were detected 26 isolates of pathogens, the detection rate of pharynx pathogens of observation group was lower than  control group （χ2=3.89，P＜0.05）. The main isolated pathogens were Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli.  ConclusionChlorhexidine gargling can effectively reduce RTI following general anesthesia，it is worthy of clinical application.