Objective To study the etiology， pathogenesis， and diagnosis of small bowel volvulus in adults. Method The clinical data of 43 cases of small bowel volvulus admitted to HassanⅡHospital of Settat from October 2009 to October 2012 were analyzed retrospectively. Results There were 11 cases of spontaneous small bowel volvulus.There were 32 cases of secondary small bowel volvulus， of which 19 cases due to postoperative abdominal adhesions. Clinical manifestation：early persistent severe abdominal pain was in 40 cases， frequent vomiting was in 29 cases， intestinalpattern or abdominal mass was in 28 cases. All 43 patients were received surgery， 22 （51.2%） cases were diagnosed by preoperative ultrasonography， small bowel necrosis was found in 16 cases during operation， 37 （86.0%） patients were cured and 6 （14.0%） patients died. Conclusions Secondary small bowel volvulus is main small bowel volvulus， post-operative abdominal adhesion is major causes of small bowel volvulus， the value of abdominal X-ray in diagnosing is limited. However， ultrasonography and CT are helpful in diagnosing these diseases. Small bowel volvulus and intestinal obstruction can reinforce each other. Early small bowel volvulus is characterized by clinical conditions such as severe abdominal pain， early vomiting signs， and signs not matching the symptoms. Acute onset and rapid progression are the features of small bowel volvulus， surgery should be intervened in early stage.