Background: We evaluated whether alterations of hemoglobin (HB), hematocrit (HCT), serum albumin level (ALB), and the difference of HCT and ALB can be used in the diagnosis of preeclampsia and eclampsia in patients with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP). Methods: A total of 509 individuals were recruited and divided into 4 groups: Group 1,170 healthy non-pregnant women; Group 2, 125 normal pregnant women; Group 3,105 pregnant women diagnosed with gestational and chronic hypertension; Group 4, 109 pregnant women diagnosed as having preeclampsia and eclampsia. Data of HB, HCT, ALB, globulin (GLB) were collected at the time of a prenatal examination during the third trimester. Results: Alterations in the HCl' and the ALB levels in these groups were significantly different. Group 4 had a higher mean HCT-ALB value (P < 0.01), but lower ALB and GLB values compared with the other three groups. We used Groups 2 and 3 as the respective reference to draw the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves of HCT-ALB in Group 4, and found that the threshold values of maximum index corresponding were 12.95 and 12.65 (sensitivity > 57.0%, specificity > 98.9%), respectively. Conclusions: The value of HCT-ALB > 12.65 might be used as a potential biomarker for the auxiliary diagnosis of preeclampsia and eclampsia in HDP. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.