A total 490 cases of surgical geriatric patients over 65 years old were clinically reviewed who underwent digestive tract operations for presentation of a detailed considerations of certain common associated disease, and postoperative morbidity and mortality in Department of General Surgery in Phil-Dong Hospital, Chung Ang University, College of Medicine during 23 years from beginning of 1970 to the end of 1992. Whole geriatric patients were 1.126 consisting 6.7% of all surgical patients. The surgical digestive tract diseases in geriatric patient. were 490 cases consisting 70.8%. of major operations. The male to female sex ratio was 1:0.96. The most common age group was 65 to 69 with 50.2%. According to disease analysis, the most common diseases was benign hepatobiliary diseases (26.1%), and the next was acute appendicitis (22.9%), and stomach cancer (19%) in crder of incidence. 348 cases (71%) of all had associated disease. The most common associated disease were respiratory diseases (31.4%), and cardiovascular disease (29.2%). Postoperative complication rate was 28.6%. Respiratory complication (44.3%) was the rnost common. and the next was wound complication (31. 3%). The complication rate increased with aging, duration of anesthesia, and associated disease (p <0.005). There were 11 cases of postoperative deaths and mortality rate was 2.2%. Sepsis (36.4%) was the most common cause of death. The mortality rate of the rnalignancy was 3.1%. All cases of postoperative deaths had associated disease. The mortality rate of the emergency operations was 3.5% higher than 1.6% of elective operations (p< 0.005).