Abstract: Objective　To evaluate the mean gastric residual volume (GRV) and its safe range in early life of premature infants. Methods　One hundred and sixty-five premature infants, birth weight ≤ 1800 g or gestational age ≤ 32 weeks, admitted from Sep.2013 to Mar. 2015, were fed following a standardized protocol. The GRV of first week after birth was recorded by retention stomach tube. The premature infants were grouped according to body weight and gestational age. The changes of GRV in the early stage of birth of premature infants with different birth weight and gestational age were observed. The relationships between the GRV and the complications and related factors were analyzed. Results　Total of 165 premature infants was qualified. The average early maximum GRV were 3.3 ±2.2 ml/kg. The average GRV in 24 hours after birth were 2.4 ±1.9 ml/kg. There was no significant difference in the early maximum GRV (ml/kg) in different body weight and gestational age groups (P>0.05). The time of gastric retention disappeared was significantly different in different birth weight groups (P<0.05). The longest time of gastric retention appeared was 37.5±17.6 days in infants with birth weight ≤ 1250 g. On a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, infants with the maximum GRV up to 6.2 ml/kg at third days had the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding at the 4-7 days after birth. The area under curves (AUC) was 0.641 (95%CI: 0.500-0.782). There was no significant correlation between the early maximum GRV and the occurrence of neonatal necrotizing entercocolitis in 2-3 weeks after birth. Conclusions　Gastric retention maybe sustained for a long time in premature infants after birth. The lower the birth weight, the longer the duration. The enteral nutrition can be performed under the dynamic monitoring and assessment of GRV. The large volume of GRV may predict the feeding complications.