Objective To identify the predictors of prolonged stay in the intensive care unit (ICU) in patients undergoing surgery for acute aortic dissection type A. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 80 patients who underwent surgery for acute aortic dissection type A in Qingdao Municipal Hospital from December 2009 through December 2013. The mean age of the patients was 48.9±12.5 years, including 54 males (67.5%) and 26 females (32.5%). The patients were divided into two groups based on their stay time in the ICU. Prolonged length of ICU stay was defined as 5 days or longer time in the ICU postoperatively. There were 67 patients with length of ICU stay shorter than 5 days, 13 patients with length of ICU stay 5 days or longer time. Univariate and multivariate analysis (logistic regression) were used to identify the predictive risk factors. Results The length of ICU stay was 63.2±17.4 hours and 206.9±25.4 hours separately. Overall in-hospital mortality was 3.0% and 15.4% respectively in the two groups. In univariate analyses, there were statistically significant differences with respect to the age, the European system for cardiac operative risk evaluation (EuroSCORE), the preoperative D-dimmer level, total cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) time, deep hypothermic circulatory arrest (DHCA), inotropes and occurrence of postoperative stroke, acute renal failure and acute respiratory failure, ICU stay duration and hospital stay duration between the patients with length of ICU stay shorter than 5 days and longer than 5 days. Multivariate logistic analysis showed that CPB time, occurrence of postoperative stroke, acute renal failure, or acute respiratory failure were independent predictors for prolonged ICU stay. Conclusion The incidence of prolonged ICU stay is high after surgery for acute aortic dissection type A. It can be predicted by CPB time, occurrence of postoperative stroke, acute renal failure, and acute respiratory failure were independent predictors for prolonged ICU stay. For patients with these risk factors, more perioperative care strategies are needed in order to shorten the ICU stay time.