Abstract: OBJECTIV To investigate the distribution of pathogens isolated from patients with oral and maxillofacial space infections and analyze the clinical characteristics of the infection so as to put forward the related prevention measures. METHODS The clinical data of 161 patients with oral and maxillofacial space infection who were treated from Mar 2014 to Mar 2016 were retrospectively analyzed. The pus specimens were collected and injected into the culture tube of blister, the culture of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria was carried out, and the drug susceptibility testing was performed. RESULTS Among the 161 patients with oral and maxillofacial space infection, the patients with infraorbital space infection accounted for 31.7%, the patients with submandibular space infection accounted for 23.0%, and the patient with masseter muscle gap infection accounted for 13.7%. Odontogenic infection was dominant among the causes, accounting for 61.5%, followed by glandular infection (19.3%) and traumatic infection (10.6%). A total of 423 strains of pathogens were isolated, of which 45.4% were aerobic-anaerobic mixed bacteria; the aerobic bacteria accounted for 33.1%, among which Staphylococcus aureus was the most common, accounting for 11.3%; the anaerobic bacteria accounted for 21.5%, among which Prevotella was dominant, accounting for 9.2%. The drug resistance rate of the S.aureus strains to ciprofloxacin was 22.9%; the drug resistance rates of Streptococcus pneumoniae and Klebsiella pneumoniae to imipenem were 8.6% and 9.5%, respectively. The drug resistance rates of the Prevotella and Fusobacterium to imipenem were 6.5% and 11.5%, respectively; the drug resistance rate of Actinomycetes to polymyxin E was 26.7%. CONCLUSION The patients with infraorbital space infection are dominant among the patients with oral and maxillofacial space infection, the odontogenic infection is the leading cause, and the aerobic-anaerobic mixed bacterial infection is most common. It is necessary for the hospital to take effective measures based on the result of drug susceptibility testing and related factors so as to prevent the progression of disease.