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Objectives: To identify the risk factors for and adverse newborn outcomes associated with maternal deaths from direct and indirect causes in the UK. Design: Unmatched case-control analysis. Setting: All hospitals caring for pregnant women in the UK. Population: 383 women who died (cases) from direct or indirect causes from 2009-13 (Confidential Enquiry into Maternal Deaths in the UK). 1516 women who did not have any life-threatening complications during pregnancy and childbirth (controls) obtained from UK Obstetric Surveillance System (UKOSS). Methods: Multivariable regression analyses were undertaken to examine potential risk factors, their incremental effects, and adverse newborn outcomes associated with maternal deaths. Outcomes: Odds ratios associated for risk factors for maternal death and newborn outcomes (stillbirth, admission to neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), early neonatal death), and incremental risk. Results: Seven factors, of 13 examined, were independently associated with increased odds of maternal death: pre-existing medical comorbidities (aOR=8.65; 95%CI=6.29-11.90), anaemia during pregnancy (aOR=3.58; 95%CI=1.14-11.21), previous pregnancy problems (aOR=1.85; 95%CI=1.33-2.57), inadequate utilisation of antenatal care (aOR=46.85; 95%CI=19.61-111.94), substance misuse (aOR=12.21; 95%CI=2.33-63.98), unemployment (aOR=1.81; 95%CI=1.08-3.04) and maternal age (aOR=1.06; 95%CI=1.04-1.09). There was a four-fold increase in the odds of death per unit increase in the number of risk factors. Odds of stillbirth, admission to NICU and early neonatal death were higher among women who died. Conclusion: This study reiterates the need for optimal care for women with medical comorbidities and older age, and the importance of adequate antenatal care. It demonstrates the existence of socioeconomic inequalities in maternal death in the UK.