Abstract : Laparoscopic cholecystectomy has become the standard treatment for symptoms of gallbladder disease. However, there are still a significant proportion of patients for whom laparoscopic cholecystectomy cannot be performed successfully and who need to switch to open surgery. In this prospective study, we reviewed (140) patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy during the last three years (January 1st, 2019 to January 1st, 2020) at Al-Kadhimiya teaching hospital and recorded reasons for conversion to OC. Statistical analysis was then performed to identify factors predictive of increased risk for conversion. Our unit’s practice on timing for cholecystectomy general practices interval cholecystectomy for most of our patients. Patients who underwent emergency cholecystectomy were excluded from this study. About 20% of cases that were performed during the first one and half year of the study were converted, so about 3.3% of converted cases were in patients with BMI over 30, as well as 18.8% of cases in patients in which identification of calot's triangle lasted more than 30 minutes were converted, 20% of cases that were performed during the first one and half year of the study were converted. Patients with a high predicted risk of conversion could be operated on either by or under the supervision of a more experienced surgeon. Surgeons in the early phase of their training could operate on patients with low risk of conversion, especially if they are not operating under the supervision of an experienced laparoscopic surgeon. Also, a high predicted risk of conversion may allow the surgeon to take an early decision to convert to OC when difficulty is encountered during dissection; this may shorten the duration of surgery and decrease the associated morbidity.