Background/Aims: Percutaneous tracheostomy (PT) is defined as early or late PT by the time from the patient’s intubation to the day of the PT procedure. In this retrospective study, we aimed to evaluate the effects of early and late tracheostomy timing on the duration of mechanical ventilation (MV), duration of intensive care unit (ICU) stay, length of hospital stay, complications, and mortality. Methods: The files of critically ill patients from hospital records undergoing tracheostomy during the treatment in the Anesthesiology and Reanimation ICU between 1st March 2023, and 31st May 2024 were retrospectively evaluated. Patients in whom tracheostomy was performed before the 10th day and on the 10th day of intubation were grouped as early tracheostomy, and those in whom tracheostomy was performed after the 10th day were grouped as late tracheostomy. Results: The study included 90 patients. The early tracheostomy group (n=45) was significantly younger than the late tracheostomy group (n=45). The mean age of the early tracheostomy group was 62.42 ± 16.78, while that of the late tracheostomy group was 69.58±16.20 (p=.043). The median length of ICU stay was 32 days (range: 6-270 days) in the early tracheotomy group and 45 days (range: 16-270 days) in the late tracheotomy group; and the length of ICU stay in the early tracheotomy group was significantly shorter than the late tracheotomy group (p=.025). Besides, the number of MV days was significantly greater in patients in the late tracheotomy group compared with patients in the early tracheotomy group [32 days (range: 6-230 days)] vs [40 days (range: 16-265 days)] (p=.032). Conclusions: Early tracheostomy procedure is important and beneficial for the treatment of elderly intensive care patients because it reduces the duration of ICU stay and reduces the duration of MV.