Abstract Background: Through the disease course, diferent prognostic factors have been addressed in patients with SLE admitted to intensive care unit. For instance, higher disease activity on admission, recent immunosuppressive therapy, infections, renal disease, and central nervous system involvement, all had negative efects on the outcome of the disease. It is still a clinical challenge for the physicians to manage this disease which has many aspects regarding its pathogenesis, clinical presentation, and its outcome remains to be explained. The aim of our study was determining the course, outcome, and determinants of admission to intensive care unit in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. Results: Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus admitted to the intensive care unit in the study sample was 21.4%, and the death rate among them is 18.2%. In our study, the main causes of intensive care admission were car‑ diovascular causes followed by renal failure then infections. Holding the other covariates constant, a higher value of CRP, SLEDAI, and damage index value is associated with intensive care admission among lupus patients. Conclusion: Our study showed that systemic lupus erythematosus patients with a higher value of CRP, SLEDAI, and damage index value were liable for intensive care unit admission. Good control of disease activity of SLE which in turn reduces damage of diferent body systems is mandatory. Periodic screening for functions of renal and cardiac systems is of great value. Proper screening and prophylaxis is recommended against variable causes of infections. Rheuma‑ tologists should be careful in controlling SLE active disease and to balance the doses of immunosuppressive espe‑ cially in the presence of infection. They should focus the research on fnding more accurate infection predictive index parameters to early predict the onset of infection.