Surgical site infection (SSI) control requires a solid understanding of infection rates, changes, and risk factors. Although baseline SSI rates can vary by clinic and caseload, knowing facility-level SSI rates is essential for making meaningful comparisons with other facilities and assessing changes over time. Proper identification and recording of SSIs are crucial and often more complex than anticipated. Accurate measurement is a key component of effective SSI surveillance. Collecting appropriate data helps identify risk factors that may be causing clusters or high endemic rates and can highlight potential interventions. This lecture will provide an overview of SSI surveillance methods, discuss important risk factors, and identify intervention strategies to reduce SSI incidence.