Background and Objectives: Hospitals are of high importance in the society. Therefore, evaluation of health care provided by hospitals is in high priority. Performance indicators are used as a tool for evaluation of effectiveness and efficiency of services. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between performance indicators and Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU) evaluating score in East Azerbaijan.

Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2011 in all East Azerbaijan hospitals with active NICU wards. Data regarding performance indicators and evaluating score of NICU units were collected from Deputy of Treatment of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences and were analyzed using SPSS 16 and t-test was applied.

Results: The mean of bed occupancy, bed turnover and length of stay in studied NICU units were 96.31%, 4.88% and 6.39%, prospectively. There was no significant relationship between performance indicators and NICU units evaluating score.

Conclusion: The lack of significant relationship between performance indicators and evaluating score indicates that evaluation tools and procedure must be reconsidered to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of services properly.