OBJECTIVE： To provide reference for promoting the rational use of antibiotic essential medicines in maternity hospitals. METHODS： Using hospital information system （HIS）， relevant data of using antibiotics in a third grade class A maternity hospital in Shanghai from 2013 to 2015 was collected， and the use of its essential medicines was analyzed. RESULTS： The consumption sum of antibiotics was on the decrease from 2013 to 2015， while the essential medicine rose year by year. The consumption sum of macrolides and essential drugs ranked the first； cephamycins （non-essential medicines） showed downward trend in consumption sum； though the consumption sum of nitroimidazole ranked relatively front， its essential medicines accounted for low proportion. Most of top 10 antibiotics in term of consumption sum and DDDs were essential medicines within 3 years， showing a good trend， while the price of Erythromycin enteric capsule， an essential drug， was relatively higher in the similar drugs， consumption sum and DDDs ranking ratio was lower than 1， which showed a good economic benefit but not social benefit； while the consumption sum of Ornidazole sodium chloride injection， a non-essential medicine， was obviously higher than Metronidazole sodium chloride injection， an essential medicine， showing front ranking. CONCLUSIONS： The utilization of antibiotic essential medicines is generally good， while there are still some problems in the priority and rational use of individual species in the clinic， which need further strengthened management.