OBJECTIVES: Real-world clinical and economic outcomes among patients with venous thromboembolism (VTE) in China are not well reported in the literature. This study aimed to assess bleeding rate, length of stay (LOS) and costs among hospitalizations with a diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or pulmonary embolism (PE). METHODS: A large electronic medical record database from three tertiary hospitals in three metropolitan cities in China was used. Bleeding rate, LOS and total costs (2014 RMB) for DVT and PE hospitalizations during 2009-2014 were described. The outcomes were compared among patient groups defined by initial anticoagulant (i.e., unfractionated heparin [UFH], low-molecular-weight heparin/fondaparinux [LMWH/F], warfarin, and combinations). Fisher’s exact tests and F-tests were used to compare categorical and continuous variables, respectively. RESULTS: CONCLUSIONS: In this study, VTE incurred long LOS and substantial total hospitalization costs. Initiation of UFH was associated with a higher major bleeding rate, longer LOS and higher costs in DVT-related hospitalizations.