Perioperative hyperglycemia frequently develops in critically ill patients and has been associated with adverse outcome. In this study, we tried to identify whether hyperglycemia was associated with adverse outcome in adult patients receiving extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. From 2004 through 2008, 44 adult patients received extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Clinical records of these 44 consecutive patients were retrospectively analyzed. Glucose levels were monitored and recorded every 3 hours during the support period. The mean glucose level was computed for all patients for whom data were available within the first 48 hours after extracorporeal membrane oxygenation setup. More than 15% of blood glucose levels above 180 mg/dL were defined as hyperglycemia. Clinical outcomes were compared between patients with and without hyperglycemia. The primary outcome was death from any cause in hospital. A p value < .05 was accepted as significant. The overall survival was 68%. Twenty-eight patients were allocated to group 1 with a mean glucose of 179 +/- 40 mg per deciliter. The other 16 patients allocated to group 2 with a mean glucose of 140 +/- 16 mg per deciliter. There is no significant difference in the mortality of the two groups. Perioperative complications were also similar between the two groups. Glucose levels were not associated with mortality and complications in adult patients receiving extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.