Objectives: The purpose of the study was to investigate the perception and practice of the infection control by empowerment in the dental hygienists. Methods: A self-reported questionnaire was filled out by 200 dental hygienists in Gyeongbuk from January 3 to February 20, 2013. Data were analyzed by SPSS 12.0 program. The instrument of impowerment was adapted from Spreitzer and consisted of 12 questions including meaning(4 questions), competency(4 questions), self-decision(4 questions), and impact(4 questions). Impowerment was score by Likert 5 scale and higher score means higher impowerment. The instrument for hand washing recognition and practice was adapted from Kim and consisted of hand washing(5 questions), personal protective clothing management(5 questions), contaminated appliance management(3 questions), sterilization(3 questions), and infection control environment(8 questions). The empowerment instrument was score by Likert 5 scale and the mean was 3.83 points. Based on 3.83, infection control recognition and practice were divided into upper group and lower group. Cronbach alpha was 0.951 in empowerment, 0.931 in recognition, and 0.924 in practice in the study. Results: Based on the average points of 3.83, the groups were divided into two groups including upper group and lower group. The upper group showed higher score in hand washing than the lower group. In the protective clothing management, the upper group changed the mask at one-hour interval(p<0.001). Conclusions: In the viewpoint of empowerment, it had a significant influence on the perception and practice of the dental infection control in the dental hygienists.