BackgroundPulseoximetryscreening(POS)hasbeenproposedasaneffective,noninvasive,inexpensivetoolallowingearlierdiagnosisofcriticalcongenitalheartdisease(CCHD).However,mostneonatesaredischargedfromthehospitalwithoutthisevaluationinChina.ThisstudyaimedatassessingthefeasibilityofPOSfornewbornsindetectingCCHDinthedepartmentofobstetricsandneonatalintensivecareunit(NICU).MethodsPOSwasperformedin355neonatesborninthedepartmentofobstetricsoradmittedtotheNICUbetweenJanuary2015andJune2015.Theseneonateswerepidedintonormalgroup,mildcongenitalheartdiseasegroup(MCHD)andCCHDgroup,accordingtotheresultofechocardiographyorcomputerizedtomography(CT).Thegestationalage,birthweightandarterialoxygensaturation(SpO_2)werecomparedamongthethreegroups.TheSpO_2valueanddiagnosistimeoftheCCHDcaseswereclassifiedandanalyzed.ResultsTheprematurebirthandlowbirthweightwerethehighriskfactorsofmildcongenitalheartdisease.Therewasnodifference(P>0.05)inSpO_2betweentheMCHDgroupandthenormalgroup.SignificantdifferenceintheSpO_2appearedbetweentheCCHDgroupandthenormalgroup(P<0.05).CombinationofPOSandclinicalexaminationcanreducethemissingdiagnosisrateinscreeningforCCHD.ConclusionsPOSincursverylowcostandriskofharmandisnotrequiredforspecialtraining,therefore,aneffectivewaytoidentifyCCHDinneonates.