Objective To explore risk factors of early rebleeding after endoscopic treatment of gastroesophageal varices by retrospectively analyzing cases and outcomes from the China-Japan Friendship Hospital.Methods Three hundred cases of esophagus and/or gastric varices that had received endoscopic therapy between November 1995 and December 2010 were enrolled in the study.The cases were divided into two groups according to presence or absence of early rebleeding, defined as rebleeding within 24 h to six weeks of the operative procedure.Associations with variables of the endoscopic procedure, as well as laboratory and imaging findings, were analyzed by forward stepwise logistic regression analysis to identify independent risk factors of early rebleeding.Results Patients experiencing early rebleeding after endoscopic therapy were more likely to be male (P=0.04) , ascites-positive (P=0.032) , to have a larger portal vein diameter (P=0.046) , and higher levels of serum creatinine (P=0.049) and serum sodium (P=0.033) .Two significant candidate variables were identified: ascites-positivity (odds ratio (OR) =3.505, 95% confidence interval (CI) : 1.169, 10.512, P=0.025) and higher serum creatinine (OR=1.016, 95% CI: 1.002, 1.031, P=0.028) .Conclusion Early rebleeding after endoscopic therapy of gastroesophageal varices is mainly affected by the presence of ascites and higher serum creatinine.Patients with these risk factors should be paid careful attention before and after the endoscopic procedure.