Between November 1990 and December 1993, 9 patients underwent surgical intervention for acute active endocarditis at Gyeongsang National University Hospital. All the patients were operated on within the first six weeks after onset of symptoms for various reasons. Surgical indications for early surgery were heart failure, systemic septic emboli, new murmur and growing vegetation. Most common infecting organism was Staphylococcus[55 %], and the others were Streptococcus, anaerobes, Candida and unknown in 1 case. The infection was in the mitral valve in 5 patients, the aortic valve in 2, the aortic and mitral in 1, and the aortic and pulmonary in 1. There was one operative death[11 %] and no late death. Preoperative Functional Class were II in 4 patients, III in 5 and after surgery all the patients improved to Class I. We conclude that early surgical intervention in acute active endocarditis is effective in most instances.