Purpose: In average risk individuals undergoing screening colonoscopy, withdrawal time of at least six minutes or more in normal exams is considered as a quality indicator. However, data is conflicting on the correlation of withdrawal time and detection of adenomas. The aim of this study is to estimate the impact of withdrawal time on detection of adenomas and polyps. Methods: Retrospective analysis of average risk screening colonoscopies performed at a university hospital using the electronic reporting system was done. All patients who underwent a colonoscopy with the indication “screening-average risk” during the study period [2006-2011] were included. Surveillance procedures and patients with high risk family history were excluded since they are expected to have higher adenoma rate. We reviewed demographic details, procedural data and corresponding pathology reports. Polyp detection rate (PDR) is defined as the number of colonoscopies with at least one polyp removed/total number of procedures. Adenoma detection rate (ADR) is defined as the number of colonoscopies with removal of at least one pathologically confirmed adenoma/total number of procedures. Withdrawal time is defined as the time spent withdrawing from cecum to anus. Colonoscopies where polyps or malignancies were found were excluded, and only normal colonoscopies were included to calculate the mean withdrawal time for each endoscopist. Spearman Rank Correlation coefficient was calculated to estimate the degree of correlation between the withdrawal time and ADR/PDR. Results: A total of 2370 patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria. ADR, PDR, and mean withdrawal times for each of the participating endoscopists were calculated (see Table). The spearman rank correlation coefficient (S) for withdrawal time and ADR was 1.0 [P=0.016] confirming a perfect positive correlation between withdrawal time and ADR. The S coefficient for withdrawal time and PDR was 0.9, [P=0.083].Table: No Caption available.Conclusion: This study confirms that a longer duration of withdrawal time during screening colonoscopy improves adenoma detection rate.