We examined 304 patients with portal hypertension and acute upper gastrointestinal (UGI) bleeding by emergency endoscopy within 48 hours. Esophagogastric varices (EGV) were identified as the bleeding sources in 74%, gastric ulcer and duodenal ulcer each accounted for 10%, another 6% were undetermined. The frequencies of variceal bleeding from alcoholic liver disease and from nonalcoholic liver disease were similar. In 49 patients associated with hepatocellular carcinoma, 90% of them bled from EGV. The in-hospital mortality rates for UGI bleeding from esophagogastric varices, gastric ulcer and duodenal ulcer were 45%, 23% and 23% respectively. The in-hospital mortality rates for UGI bleeding from alcoholic liver disease and from nonalcoholic liver disease were similar. The mortality rates of UGI bleeding in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) associated with portal hypertension were 63%.