Objective To explore the diagnosis and treatment for ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm （RAAA）. Methods The clinical data of 20 patients with RAAA from January 2000 to December 2010 were analyzed retrospectively．Results There were 18 males and 2 females．The age was 31-82 years with an average 65.4 years．All the patients were abdominal pain and （or） back pain．Eleven cases had low blood pressure or shock．Seven cases had a history of abdominal aortic aneurysm．All the cases were accurately diagnosed by CTA，Doppler ultrasonography or operation．Nineteen cases were treated by conventional operation，1 by endovascular aortic repair．Survival of 16 cases recovered smoothly. Perioperative death occurred in 4 cases，mortality rate was 20% in 20 patients with RAAA．The causes of death included circulatory failure in 1 case and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome in 3 cases．Conclusions Surgery treatment is an effective treatment for RAAA．Early diagnosis and urgent surgical repair are crucial to reduce the mortality of RAAA．