Introduction. Spontaneous intracerebral hematoma is the form of stroke with the highest mortality rate among cerebrovascular diseases worldwide. There is no consensus on the selection of patients to be treated surgically to reduce postoperative mortality. Objective. To propose a prognostic index of postoperative mortality for patients with primary intracerebral hematoma treated by craniotomy and evacuation of the hematoma. Methodology. An explanatory, analytical, prospective study was performed in 127 patients with intracerebral hematoma. Preoperative factors related to postoperative mortality were identified and a prognostic index was created. We determined whether the prognostic index correctly predicted postoperative mortality. Results. The following were identified as predictors of mortality: age ¿ 60 years, EGC ¿ 10 points, and depth ¿ 1.25 centimeters. The prognostic index created classified patients into low, intermediate, high and very high risk of death. Conclusions. A prognostic index is proposed that has good discriminatory power between living and deceased patients.