Background and objective: Rapid administration of intravenous recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator (rt-PA) is the standard treatment for patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS). While hemorrhage represents as an important and unpredictable complication of thrombolytic treatment, few studies have specifically assessed the prevalence and predictors of bleeding complications among AIS patients in Asia. We assessed characteristics of hemorrhagic complications after intravenous thrombolysis in Chinese AIS patients. Methods: This single-academic-center study retrospectively evaluated 351 acute ischemic stroke patients who received rt-PA intravenously from April 2011 to April 2016. The occurrence and characteristics of any hemorrhagic complications, as well as their associated risk factors were recorded and summarized. Multivariate logistic regression was conducted to analyze significant predictors of bleeding. Results: 134 (38.1%) patients experienced one hemorrhagic event in one or more locations The top seven common sites were gingiva (49.3%), skin (18.3%), urinary system (10.4%), digestive tract (7.5%), intra-cranial cavity (7.5%), mouth (4.4%) and nasal cavity (2.2%). All the gingival bleeding occurred during 1 to 24 hours after thrombolysis and was the first sign of bleeding. Intracranial hemorrhage (both symptomatic and asymptomatic) occurred in 16 patients, of whom 4 presented first with gingival bleeding. Multivariate analysis showed that high systolic blood pressure (SBP) and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score were independent risk factors for hemorrhage post thrombolysis (P<0.05). Conclusions: One out of three AIS patients in this study had a bleeding complication. The most common site of initial hemorrhage after intravenous thrombolysis was gingival, which frequently occurred as the initial bleeding site within 24 hours after thrombolysis. Consistent with literature, elevated SBP and higher NIHSS were the two key predictors of bleeding risk.