Objective: External ventricular drainage (EVD) is frequently used in neurosurgery for cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) drainage. The purpose of this retrospective single center study was to assess the prevalence and potential risk factors of EVD-related infections. Methods: Clinical data of 58 patients undergoing EVD in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Neurosurgery Department of Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University between January 1 and December 31, 2015 were collected. The incidence of ventricular infection, use of antibiotics, concurrent infection, pathogenic bacteria, duration of catheter drainage, and CSF sampling frequency were retrospectively analyzed. Forty-eight patients were diagnosed with subarachnoid hemorrhage/intracranial hemorrhage, 7 with intracranial tumors, and 3 cases were diagnosed with alternative diseases. Twenty-five patients were administered with antibiotics to prevent the risk of infections. Results: Fifty-eight patients received EVD for 456 days. The infection rate was calculated as 8.6% (10.9/1000 EVD days). The duration of EVD (>= 11 d, Wals= 4.8, RR= 17.3, 95% CI: 1.4-218.3, P=0.028), CSF sampling frequency (<= 2 d, Wals=5.3, RR=15.3, 95% CI: 1.5-243.7, P= 0.022), and concomitant pulmonary infection (RR=7.8, 95% CI: 0.8-74.8, P=0.04) were risk factors of EVD-related infections. Conclusion: Multivariate analysis has demonstrated that long duration of catheter drainage, CSF sampling frequency, and concomitant pulmonary infection are risk factors of EVD-induced infections. Widespread attention should be diverted to these factors to reduce the incidence of EVD-related infections in the clinical setting.