【Abstract】 Objective To explore the effect of recurrent anterior shoulder dislocation on the secondary intra-articular injuries through analyzing the correlation between the number of dislocation, disease duration, and the secondary intra-articular injuries. Methods The clinical data were analyzed retrospectively from 59 patients with recurrent anterior shoulder dislocation who underwent arthroscopic Bankart reconstruction using suture anchor between January 2005 and June 2009. There were 48 males and 11 females, and the average age was 27.6 years (range, 15-42 years). The causes of first dislocation included contact sports (21 cases), non-contact sports (13 cases), daily activities (11 cases), and trauma (14 cases). The average number of preoperative dislocations was 10.6 times (range, 3-32 times). The time between first dislocation and surgery was 11 months to 12 years (median, 5.9 years). The results of apprehension test and relocation test were positive in all patients. The University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) score was 22.3 ± 2.4, and Constant-Murley score was 73.1 ± 5.8 preoperatively. According to the arthroscopic findings, the effect of recurrent anterior shoulder dislocation on the secondary intra-articular injuries was analyzed. Results All incisions healed by first intention, and no early complication occurred. All 59 patients were followed up 37.3 months on average (range, 16-58 months). At last follow-up, UCLA score was 34.6 ± 1.7 and Constant-Murley score was 86.7 ± 6.1, showing significant differences when compared with preoperative scores (P lt; 0.05). The number of preoperative dislocations was positively correlated with the severity of secondary articular cartilage injury (rs=0.345, P=0.007) and the severity of Hill-Sachs injury (rs=0.708, P=0.000). The time between first dislocation and surgery had a positive correlation with the severity of secondary articular cartilage injury (rs=0.498, P=0.000), but it had no correlation with the severity of Hill-Sachs injury (rs=0.021, P=0.874). Conclusion For patients with recurrent anterior shoulder dislocation, early Bankart reconstruction is benefit to functional recovery of shoulder and can avoid or delay the occurrence or development of secondary intra-articular injuries.