Radical cystectomy is associated with some of the highest rates of morbidity and mortality in the field of urologic surgery. Despite this burden, there remains a lack of consensus as to when it is most useful to assess complications across the post-surgical recovery period. Our objective was to describe the time-course of major complications (Clavien grade III-V) after radical cystectomy and explore associations that exist with these events at early (30-day) and late (90-day) time points.