OBJECTIVE： To provide reference for rational use of antibiotics in terminal stage patients with malignant tumor. METHODS： The inpatients with malignant tumor who died in the department of medical oncology of our hospital from Mar. 2013 to Mar. 2016 were analyzed retrospectively in respects of general situation， infection situation and antibiotics use. RESULTS： Among 149 inpatients， a total of 129 infection cases were found in 113 patients （75.8％）. The most frequent sites of infection were lung （65.9％）， followed by digestive tract/abdomen （13.2％）， and skin/wound （6.2％）. 100 patients  （67.1％） received antibiotics， 61.1％ of which were empiric treatment. β-lactam/β-lactam lactamase inhibitor （41.8％）， fluoroquinolone （21.7％） and cephalosporin （16.9％） were the top 3 frequently prescribed antibiotics. The effective rate of antibiotics treatment was as low as 15.8％， which was believed to be linked with the survival duration since infection occurred （P＜0.001）， the Karnofsky performance scale （KPS） score when infection occurred （P＜0.001） and the duration of antibiotics treatment （P＝0.025）. CONCLUSIONS： Terminal stage patients with malignant tumor are vulnerable to infections， especially to pulmonary infection. The empirical broad-spectrum antibiotics are widely used in terminal patients with malignant tumor， but the effectiveness rate of antibiotic treatment is in low level. For those terminal stage patients with malignant tumor and with KPS score＜60 points， when futile antibiotics treatment last for more than 7 days， timely termination of antibiotics treatment is a better choice.