Background: Patients with maxillofacial deformities require orthognathic surgeries to correct occlusion. The surgical procedure may lead to massive bleeding, which is associated with hematoma, respiratory obstruction, and asphyxia. Dexmedetomidine has been used in controlled hypotension, and may decrease blood loss in orthognathic surgery. We conducted a retrospective cohort study to evaluate the effect of dexmedetomidine on blood loss in orthognathic surgeries.Methods: The primary outcome examined was blood loss, and secondary outcomes were postoperative haemoglobin level, intraoperative heart rate, and blood pressure (T0: preoperative; T1: at incision; T2: 30 minutes after incision; T3: 60 minutes after incision; T4: 120 minutes after incision); dose of fentanyl, remifentanil, urapidil, and esmolol; operation time; incidence of allogeneic blood transfusion; crystalloid fluids volume; and colloidal fluid volume. Results: A total of 1,247 patients were included in the study, and 557 patient pairs were matched via propensity score matching. There were significant decreases in mean blood loss, heart rate at T1–T4, blood pressure at T1, remifentanil and esmolol dosage, and crystalloid fluid volume in the dexmedetomidine group compared with those in the control group. There was also a significant increase in the postoperative haemoglobin level of the dexmedetomidine group. Conclusions: Continuous infusion of dexmedetomidine can decrease blood loss in orthognathic surgery.Trial registration number: ChiCTR1800018794 (retrospectively registered)Name of registry: Chinese Clinical Trial RegistryDate of registration: 2018/10/09URL: www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=30612