The two main features of amnesia are: 
Trouble learning new information.
Trouble remembering past events and previously familiar information.
 Most people with amnesia have problems with short-term memory, so they can't retain new information. Recent memories are most likely to be lost. More-remote or deeply ingrained memories may be spared. For example, people may recall experiences from childhood or know the names of past presidents. But they may not be able to name the current president, know the month or remember what they ate for breakfast. Isolated memory loss doesn't affect a person's intelligence, general knowledge, awareness or attention span. It also doesn't affect judgment, personality or identity. People with amnesia usually can understand written and spoken words and can learn skills such as bike riding or piano playing. They may understand they have a memory disorder. Amnesia isn't the same as dementia. Dementia often includes memory loss but also involves other problems with thinking that lead to a decline in daily functioning. These problems include having trouble with language, judgment and visual-spatial skills. Memory loss also is a common symptom of mild cognitive impairment. This disorder involves memory and other cognitive problems that aren't as severe as those experienced in dementia. Additional symptoms Depending on the cause of the amnesia, other symptoms may include: 
False memories that are either completely invented or are real memories misplaced in time.
Confusion or disorientation.
