Amniotic fluid embolism (AFE) is a rare and very critical obstetrical disease, which involves multiple vital systems and has a high mortality rate. We report a 35-year-old woman complicated with severe dyspnea two hours post-delivery. Cardiopulmonary arrest developed rapidly thereafter. The chest radiography showed a right perihilar infiltration and a retrocardiac alveolar patch in the left lower lung field. The laboratory examination characterized disseminated intravascular coagulopathy. The clinical manifestations and histological findings of lanugo and fetal squamous cells in the central venous blood sample confirmed the diagnosis of amniotic fluid embolism. After emergency resuscitation and supportive care, the patient survived, but still depended on ventilator support due to hypoxic encephalopathy which had occurred before arrival.