Objective To determine the efficiency of dopamine and norepinephrine in treatment of cardiogenic shock. MethodsSixty cardiogenic shock patients admitted in our hospital from June 2007 to June 2014 were subjected in this study, and then randomly divided into 2 groups (n=30), treated with 5~20 μg/(kg·min) dopamine and 0.05~2.0 μg/(kg·min) norepinephrine, respectively. The mortality, heart rate after 24 hours’ treatment, mean arterial pressure (MAP), blood lactic acid level and incidence of arrhythmia during the treatment were compared between the 2 groups. Results The mortality in Intensive Care Unit (ICU), HR after 24 hours’ treatment and incidence of arrhythmia were significantly higher in the dopamine group than in the norepinephrine group (P<0.05). But there were no significant differences in the in-hospital mortality and the mortalities in 28 d, 6 months and 1 year after discharge (P>0.05). No differences were seen in the MAP and blood lactic acid levels between two groups after 24 hours’ treatment (P>0.05), neither in the occurrences of ventricular tachycardia and fibrillation during the treatment (P>0.05). ConclusionCompared with dopamine, norepinephrine treatment can effectively lower ICU mortality, decrease HR and reduce atrial fibrillation, but doesn’t affect long-term mortality in treatment of cardiogenic shock.