OBJECTIVES: The  demand for intensive care units has risen in  the recent years as the increasing aged population in all countries and  in Turkey. The aim of the study is to calculate the average cost of intensive care stay(ICS) and to  compare the cost with the reimbursement amount depending on a public hospital data in Turkey. METHODS: The records of ICSed patients from a public hospital in Ankara were evaluated retrospectively between November 2011 and January 2012. The hospital cost and reimbursement amount were calculated depending on the data. RESULTS: 104 patients stayed in the given time line. 4 patients excluded due  to the missing data in files. The average cost of pharmaceuticals, medical devices, laboratory, health care and total cost per patient were calculated as 1209.16 TL± 492.46, 137.48 TL± 41.08, 422.35 TL± 108.70, 873.10 TL± 247.82 and 2992.43 TL± 994.06, respectively.  The average reimbursement amount per patient was calculated as 2846.59 TL± 842.60. The average profit or deficit of the hospital were calculated for the 1st,2nd,3rd,4th, 5th,6th, 7th,8th,9-15th,16-29th and 30-51st days as 34.90 TL± 49.69, -75.48 TL± 671.39, -23.25 TL± 315.41, 382.80 TL± 368.58, 283.09 TL± 628.57, -266.13 TL± 612.81, 312.45 TL± 416.11, 118.99 TL± 729.00, -916.58 TL± 1430.94, -1500.57 TL± 3217.87 and -2054.55 TL± 3204.79, respectively. The profit and deficit trend line was calculated with the number of ICS days as “y = -51,889x2 + 446,98x - 631,73” (y=profit or deficit, x=hospital stay days). CONCLUSIONS: It was concluded that the average daily cost of ICS increased depending on the length of stay. The patients in critical state who needed more ICS days may have caused this. On the other hand, it was observed that the fixed daily reimbursement amount is inadequate for prolonged ICS. As a result this  leads to the deficits of the hospitals in the prolonged ICS .