Objective To observe the effectiveness and safety of continuous veno-venous hemofiltration (CVVH) and sustained low-efficiency daily dialysis (SLEDD) in critical patients with acute kidney injury (AKI). Method We retrospectively analyzed 41 AKI patients treated with CVVH (n=18) or SLEDDD (n=23) in the 2 ICUs in this hospital. Data for analysis included gender, age, primary disease, APACHEⅡ score, number of dysfunction organs, AKI classification, blood purification modality and dose, vascular access, and anticoagulant used. Results There were no differences in age, gender, number of failure organs and AKI classification between CVVH and SLEDDD groups (P＞0.05). APACHE Ⅱ score was significantly higher in CVVH group than in SLEDD group (P =0.03). Hemodynamic instability was found in 52.6% in CVVH group (a total of 128 times of CVVH in 23 cases) and 47.3% in SLEDD group (a total of 87 days in 18 cases; P＞0.05). Electrolyte concentrations had no significant differences before and after the dialysis in the two groups (P＞0.05). More anticoagulants were used in CVVH group than in SLEDD group (P＜0.01). Daily ultrafiltration volume, water uptake and excretion were significantly higher in CVVH group than in SLEDD group (P＜0.01), so as the service time, working time at night and money expense (P＜0.01). Conclusion SLEDD can be conducted in a shorter period of time, using less anticoagulant and at a lower cost, while brings similar effects as CVVH.