Background: Postoperative wound complications are of common occurrence. The incidence of postoperative wound infections ranging from <2% to 38%. Based on NNIS (National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance) system reports, surgical site infections are the third most frequently reported nosocomial infections among hospitalized patient, Aim is to compare the complications of laparotomy wound in elective and emergency surgery and to study the various determinants affecting it. Materials And Methods: It is a prospective randomized study of 72 patients undergoing emergency and elective laparotomy. Postoperative wound complications and various factors affecting it are compared between emergency and elective surgery. Conclusion: laparotomy wound complications are multifactorial, This study demonstrated the increase in incidence of postoperative tissue and wound complications in emergency surgery(25%) than elective surgery(14%). It mainly depends on higher ASA score, anemia and higher wound class who are more likely to be associated with development of wound complications.