Objective To study the expression of CD96 and CD123 in acute myelocytic leukemia (AML) patients and their potential clinical significance. Methods Totally 156 AML patients were selected as subjects. Flow cytometry was performed to detect the expression of CD96 and CD123. Relationship between CD96/CD123 and clinical characteristics were analyzed. Results The positive expression rates of CD96 and CD123 were significantly increased in AML group when compared with control group (P?0.05). Remission rates and survival in patients with positive expression of CD96 and CD123 were dramatically lowered when compared with other AML patients (P?0.05). Patients with double positive expression of CD96 and CD123 experienced increased incidence of post-chemotherapy infection and recurrence rates (P?0.05) when compared with those in other AML patients (P?0.05). Conclusions CD96 and CD123 are differentially expressed in AML patients. The positive expression of CD96 and CD123 may be related to poor outcome.