The aim of this study was to investigate the significance of SAAG in differentiating ascite and determine the correlation between SAAG and the presence of portal hypertension. The result showed that, the mean SAAG value for patients with malignant tuberculosis was 7.11 + or - 7.95, while the SAAG value was 23.25 + or - 7.69 for patients with liver cirrhosis. The SAAG cut off value from differentiating ascites from cirrhosis and tuberculosis was 15.2g/L (AUROC: 0.812). Using the ROC curve, a SAAG value of greater than 18.6 and 19.7 were a good predictor of the presence of varices and bleeding varices. In conclusion, SAAG gradient value was valuable in differentiating ascites caused by portal hypertension or malignancy. For cirrhosis patients, SAAG values can be used to predict the presence of varices, but not valuable in predicting bleeding from esophageal varices.