The characteristics of 70 cases of bacteremia in cirrhotic patients were studied according to the Child-Pugh classification as severity marker of liver involvement. Factors influencing on prognosis were determined. For a comparative analysis, 1,006 cases of bacteremia in non-cirrhotic patients were included. Sixteen patients corresponded to group A, 23 to group B and 31 to group C in the Child-Pugh classification. Patients in group A had a predominance of extra-enteric microorganisms, mainly Staphylococcus aureus (37.5%; p = 0.02), well-defined source (urinary tract, respiratory tract, skin) and good prognosis (mortality rate 6.2%). In contrast, patients in group C had a high recovery rate of Escherichia coli (41.9%) and pneumococcus (19.3%), undetermined source (51.6%; p = 0.05), ascites (83.9%), with or without concomitant peritonitis (41.1%; p = 0.03) and poor prognosis (mortality rate 48.3%; p = 0.008). The characteristics of patients in group B were similar to those of patients in group C but prognosis was as in patients in group A. The immediate mortality rate in the studied patients was 26%. The parameter which best predicted survival in the multivariate analysis was the Child-Pugh classification.