Aim To analyze the clinical characteristics of patients of corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and summarize the treatment experience, aiming to provide diagnostic and treatment reference for the front-line clinicians Methods Seventy-nine patients with COVID-19 admitted to the Infectious Hospital of Anhui Provincial Hospital from January 22 to February 18, 2020 were selected as the research subjects There were 55 cases in general group and 24 cases in severe and critical group The clinical data of the two groups were collected and compared, including general conditions, clinical symptoms, signs, laboratory tests, computed tomography imaging of the lungs and complications Results The average age of 79 COVID-19 patients was 45 1 ± 16 6 years, and forty-five of them are males The severe and critical group was older than the general group Besides, there were more males and comorbidities In terms of laboratory tests, the lymphocyte (LYM) count and albumin (A L B) decreased more significantly in the severe and critical groups Moreover, the percentage of neutrophils (N E U), c-reactive protein (CRP), D-dimer, lactate dehydrogenase (L D H), troponin I (cTnl) and urea nitrogen (BUN) increased significantly Among all the patients, the types of antiviral drugs in severe and critical group were significantly more than those in general group;moreover, the glucocorticoids, gamma globulin and oxygen inhalation by nasal catheter were used more frequently in severe and critical patients By the time of February 18, one patient died of acute large area cerebral infarction, 34 patients were discharged from hospital, and the rest were still receiving treatment Conclusions The elderly patients with multiple cardiovascular diseases are more likely to get severe and critical COVID-19 They usually combine multiple organ or system abnormalities Clinicians should make timely judgment and adjust the treatment plan according to the clinical symptoms, signs and laboratory examination results