Objective: To evaluate the clinical efficacy of laparoscopic surgery for colorectal cancer. Methods: The clinical data of 146 patients undergoing radical resection of colorectal cancer from March 2001 to May 2004 were retrospectively analyzed. The data consisted of 72 cases of laparoscopic surgery and 74 cases of traditional open surgery. The clinical indexes that included operative blood loss, operative time, medical costs, time to postoperative bowel function recovery, postoperative hospital stay, number of lymph nodes dissected, postoperative complications, short- and long-term survival etc. between the two groups were compared. Results: There were significant differences between the two groups with regards to operative blood loss, operating time, postoperative bowel function recovery, and length of postoperative hospital stay (all P<0.05). However, the differences had no statistical significance between the two groups in respect of the medical costs, postoperative complications, number of lymph nodes removed, and 2- and 5-year overall survival rate (all P>0.05). Conclusion: Laparoscopic surgery has advantages in reducing the intraoperative bleeding, time to bowel function recovery and hospital stay. Laparoscopic resection of colorectal cancer is a safe, effective and economic modality, and has similar short- and long-term outcomes as the traditional open surgery.