Objective To evaluate the effects and the clinical significances of liquid resuscitation on blood gas analysis, acid-base balance, electrolytes, acute physiology and chronic health evaluationsⅡ(APACHEⅡ) score of patients with septic shock, and then to analyze the relations between serum chlorine (Cl-) level and APACHEⅡscore and the volume of liquid resuscitation. Methods According to the target of resuscitation (centre venous pressure 8-12mm Hg and mean arterial pressure≥65mm Hg), 21 patients with septic shock received enough fluid for resuscitation during 24h . The results of blood gas analysis, acid-base balance, electrolytes, and APACHE Ⅱ score were compared between pre-resuscitation and 24h post-resuscitation by self-controlled prospective study. The relationships of the level of serum Cl- and APACHEⅡ score with the volume of liquid used in resuscitation were analyzed . Results The mean resus-citation duration was (18.09±4.57) h, and the volume of liquid during 24 h resuscitation was 5 320-11 028mL with mean volume of (7 775±1 735) mL in 21 patients with septic shock. Serum sodium (Na+, mmol/L) and Cl-(mmol/L)levels of post-resuscitation were significant higher than those of pre-resuscitation (Na+:138.71±5.67 versus 135.62±7.23, P=0.024;Cl-:109.10±4.90 versus 101.67±8.59, P=0.000). Compared with the levels of pre-resuscitation, the blood pH value, hematocrit (Hct,%), anion gap (AG, mmol/L), lactic acid (mmol/L), and APACHE Ⅱscore significantly decreased (pH:7.31±0.05 versus 7.37±0.06, P=0.000;Hct:28.48±2.56 versus 32.76±9.19, P=0.049;AG:8.33±3.45 versus 14.17±8.83, P=0.004;lactic acid:1.66±0.89 versus 2.96±1.23, P=0.001;APACHEⅡ:10.90±3.73 versus 17.24±4.06, P=0.000) after 24h resuscitation. The correlation analysis showed that the level of serum Cl- was positively correlated with the volume of liquid used in resuscitation (r=0.717,P<0.01). However, there was no correlation between APACHEⅡscore and the volume of liquid used in resuscitation (P>0.05). Conclusions The target of liquid resuscitation in patients with septic shock should be cautiously determined, including control of the volume of crystal liquid for resuscitation, in order to avoid acid-base imbalance or hyperchloraemia. At the same time, the change in internal environment should be monitored. An optimistic fluid resuscitation to decrease APACHE Ⅱ score in patients with septic shock is unrelated to the volume of liquid resuscitation.