Postoperative sleep disturbances cause harmful effects on patients' rehabilitation after surgery and unfavorable prognosis. General anesthesia alters the postoperative sleep composition and results in a high incidence rate of sleep disturbances. This review summarizes the hazards of postoperative sleep disturbances, risk factors, the mechanism of general anesthesia on sleep, and related prevention and treatment methods, so as to attract the attention of clinicians to postoperative sleep disorders. 【Key words】 Sleep disturbances; Anesthesia, general