[Abstract] Objective To analyze the clinical features and treatment outcomes of sepsis in the different periods in ICU. Methods Observing the sepsis patients with a prospective design, and comparing with the historical cases. The prospective observational sepsis group (prospective group) cases were collected from January 2010 to December 2011, and historical control group (control group) cases were gathered from January 2006 to December 2007. There were 401 cases in the prospective group and 285 cases in the control group. According to the severity of sepsis, the cases were divided into general sepsis, severe sepsis and septic shock three levels. Prospective group were treated with the early goals of the resuscitation (EGDT) and other measurement within 6 hours after the diagnosis of sepsis, control group data was gathered from medical historical records. Results The APACHE II score was positively correlated to the severity of sepsis (P <0.01). The days staying in ICU and mortality rates of patients of severe sepsis, septic shock in prospective group were lower than the control group (P <0.05). The sites of infection in two groups were followed by respiratory, abdominal cavity, blood and other parts. The top mortality of sepsis was the blood infection. The prospective group total mortality rate was lower than the control group (P <0.05). Conclusion Sepsis patients are the main target who needs to be treated in ICU for its severity and high mortality. An active regulatory early treatment can reduce mortality of patients with severe sepsis and septic shock.