Objective? To summarize and analyze the transport of critically ill newborns in the Yangtze River Delta. Methods? The general data and outcome of critically ill newborns transported from Yangtze River Delta region to Xinhua Hospital affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine from 2016 to 2019 were analyzed retrospectively. Results A total of 3508 critically ill newborns were transported and the top three diagnosed diseases were congenital heart disease, neonatal pneumonia and neonatal jaundice. Among the newborns transported, recovery accounted for 2 . 48 %, improvement for 90 . 13 %, automatic discharge for 6 . 7 %, and death for 0 . 68 %. Conclusion There is an urgent need to establish an integrated collaborative network for the transport of critically ill newborns in the Yangtze River Delta.