Between Jan. 1962 and Dec. 1988 380 cases of palliative operations were done in 357 patients for congenital heart disease. These includes 55 cases of classic Blalock-Taussig shunt, 212 cases of modified Blalock-Taussig shunt, 17 cases of Glenn shunt, 26 cases of Waterston shunt, 3 cases of Brock procedure, 33 cases of pulmonary artery banding, 6 cases of transpulmonary valvotomy, 4 cases of unifocalization, and 10 cases of open atrial septectomy. We divided the operative procedures into the conventional and the unconventional. Under the unconventional procedures, the cases since April, 1986 were only included. The number of patients who died within the early 30 days after operation is the following: 40 in systemic-pulmonary shunts, 2 in Brock procedure, 12 in PAB, 15 in unconventional procedures. The age of the patients who need palliative operation is lowering more and more and their characteristics of the disease is being transferred to the more complexities. So the role of palliative surgery in the congenital heart disease is changing.