To determine the outcome of Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (SAB) on mortality, including the impact of methicillin resistance and an initial delay (< or =48 h) of appropriate antibiotics, a retrospective cohort study including 238 patients with SAB was performed. By logistic regression, noneradicable or noneradicated foci, underlying cirrhosis, and cancer were found to be independent predictors of mortality. In patients with eradicable foci, there were no significant differences in the associated mortality rate between methicillin-resistant SAB (11%) and methicillin-susceptible SAB (13%), and between inappropriate (13%) and appropriate (10%) empirical therapy, respectively (P=.79 and P=.78, respectively). By logistic regression, it was found that, in the subgroup of patients with noneradicable foci, underlying cirrhosis (odds ratio [OR], 3.1) and methicillin-resistant SAB (OR, 2.4) were independently associated with mortality.