Introduction: Mechanical support of pulmonary ventilation (MV) is today the standard method of supporting respiratory function in acute respiratory failure. Depending on the pathophysiological mechanism and recovery of the patient, MV can be short-lived (3 to 7 days), but also prolonged (> 7 days). It is not uncommon that due to the severity of the underlying disease and its complications, we encounter patients with long-term MV longer than 21 days. Aim of the research: To determine the correlation of the performed tracheotomy to the length, ie the shortening of the use of mechanical support of pulmonary ventilation in patients in whom prolonged treatment of mechanical support of pulmonary ventilation was expected. Subjects and research methods: A two-year retrospective study included 60 patients in ICU on MV classified into two equal groups: a study group who underwent a tracheotomy and a control group of patients without a tracheotomy in whom the airway was supported by an endotracheal tube. The duration of MV, the time when the tracheotomy was performed and the total number of days until complete separation from MV were recorded. Data were collected from the archive of medical records of the Department of Intensive Care and digitally stored data in the BIS. Statistical processing was done in MS Excel. Results: The most common cause of MV in patients with tracheotomy was neurological (33%), and without tracheotomy respiratory (40%). Tracheotomized patients had a significantly higher percentage of MV duration up to 5 days (90% vs. 57% without tracheotomy) (p = 0.041) and a higher survival rate (67%; without tracheotomy 20%) (p = 0.003). Although the average number of days of patients without tracheotomy was shorter (15.6 vs. 35.1 days), tracheotomized patients had significantly lower mortality (33%; with tracheotomy 63%) (p = 0.0090). Conclusion: In patients with mechanical support of pulmonary ventilation, tracheotomy contributes to shortening the total duration of mechanical support of pulmonary ventilation as well as faster transfer of spontaneous breathing in patients and a significantly lower mortality rate. .