Objective To evaluate the relationship of the organ injury scale （OIS） with clinical characteristics and survival in penetrating cardiac trauma patients. Methods A retrospective review identified 224 patients with penetrating cardiac trauma. A grade assigned on the basis of the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma OIS was assigned to each case studied. Clinical data, including Glasgow coma scale（GCS）, revised trauma score（RTS）, injury severity score （ISS）, penetrating thoracic trauma index （PTTI）, penetrating trauma index （PTI）, and outcomes were analyzed for association with OIS grade. Results The majority of patients were either grade Ⅳ/ or Ⅴ , with grade Ⅵ having the highest mortality. Patients of grade Ⅰ to Ⅲ were mostly Sub-clinical type patients, and grade Ⅳ to Ⅵ were mostly pericardial tamponade type and hemorrhagic shock type patients. The OIS grade was significantly negative correlated with postinjury duration and GCS （r=-0. 18, -0.16）, and positive correlated with transfusion, ISS, PTTI, PT1, and death（r=0. 17,0. 22,0. 40,0. 41,0. 29）. Conclusion The OIS appears to correlate with severity of injury and survival, and it may be useful in predicting outcomes in patients with penetrating cardiac injury.