INTRODUCTION: Few studies focused on mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients. This study was conducted to survey the prevalence, the potent risk factors of MCI in MHD patients, and further observe the progress of MCI in a period of 6 months. METHODOLOGY: Mini-Mental State Examination, and Montreal Cognitive Assessment were used to assess cognitive condition. MHD patients were enrolled from The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, who had a stable hemodialysis history for more than 3 months. RESULTS: Sixty-four MHD patients and 54 general subjects were finally included. The average age of both groups was more than 60 years. The prevalence of MCI in the MHD group was significantly higher than that in general population (60.9% vs 29.6%, <0.05). Spearman correlation analysis indicated that MCI was related to age, comorbidities, education years, uric acid, serum albumin, and blood pressure. The prevalence and severity of MCI in the MHD group remained unchanged during the 6 months (prevalence: 59.5%-66.6%, MoCA scores: 22.9-22.5). CONCLUSION: MHD patients sustain a fairly high prevalence of MCI. Multiple risk factors influence the incidence and progression of MCI in MHD patients. More attention should be paid to this special population.