Background: Oxygen therapy has important role in perioperative care. During bacterial infection, neutrophils act as the main defense by oxidative killing of the micro-organisms which require molecular oxygen. This study was planned in order to observe whether increased concentration of perioperative oxygen therapy would result in reduction of surgical site infection or not. Methods: A total of 60 adult patients undergoing emergency laparotomy were included in the study. They were divided into two groups(n=30), one groups received80% supplemental inspired oxygen, the other groups received no supplemental oxygen after the surgery. Both the groups were compared postoperatively in regards to wound infection, wound dehiscence, burst abdomen, sepsis, ICU stay and mortality. Chi- square test and Means were used for statistical analysis. Results: Both the groups were comparable in terms of demographic data. There was no significant difference in the two groups in terms of postoperative complications and mortality(p value >0.05). Conclusions: Supplemental oxygen does not prevent or reduce the incidence of SSIs postsurgically.