Objective: To investigate the effects of enteral nutrition (EN) support on the recovery process and laboratory indexes of elderly patients after abdominal surgery. Methods: Two hundred and thirty-eight elderly patients undergoing abdominal surgery were randomly divided into EN group and parenteral nutrition (PN) group, and the nutrition support was continued for 7-9 days. Postoperative recovery process and complications of the patients were observed, and the laboratory indexes such as prealbumin (PA), albumin (ALB), globulin (GlO), hemoglobin (Hb) and lymphocyte count were detected before operation and before hospital discharge. Results: The time to flatus, to ambulation and to drainage tube removal, length of hospital stay after surgery and incidence of complications of EN group were reduced compared with PN group, and all differences had statistical significances (all P<0.05). PA, ALB, GLO, Hb and lymphocyte count of EN group were increased before hospital discharge compared with those before surgery, and all the indexes were significantly higher than those of PN group (all P<0.05). The incidence of postoperative complications of EN group was lower than that of the PN group, and the difference had statistical significance (χ2=8.279, P=0.004). Conclusion: For elderly patients undergoing abdominal surgery, EN support can effectively improve their nutrition status and immune function, as well as promote postoperative recovery and reduce complications.