Preoperative skin preparation with aqueous povidone-iodine alone and in combination with alcoholic chlorhexidine in individuals having elective surgery was evaluated clinically. Material and methods: Patients who were undergoing emergency surgery, patients who were immunocompromised and patients who were taking long-term steroids, as well as patients who had septicemia and had a focus of infection somewhere on the body that manifested clinically with fever and increased total and differential counts, were not allowed to participate in the study. The patients were all split up into two groups with the same number of people. Results: A total of 140 individuals who were scheduled to have clean elective surgery were split up into two groups for the purpose of this study (70 in each group). In group 1, the mean (standard deviation) age was 38.98 ± 7.55 years, whereas in group 2, the mean (standard deviation) age was 38.99 ± 5.68 years; this difference is not statistically significant. There were a total of 100 people, with 85 men and 55 females.