Objective To explore current view and application status of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery （VATS） of thoracic surgeons in some municipal hospitals in China，and provide evidence for further VATS study and training.Methods We conducted a questionnaire study for thoracic surgeons in municipal hospitals who attended the 5th West China Forum on Mini-invasive Thoracic Surgery in 2012. The questionnaire content included general descriptions of the thoracic surgeons，the departments of thoracic surgery where they worked，and VATS application status in their hospitals. A total of 263 surgeons were investigated，and 183 （69.58%） valid questionnaires were collected for descriptive analysis.Results （1） Responders’ view of VATS：There were 89.62% （164/183） responders who believed that the advantages of VATS were mainly mini-invasive and fast postoperative recovery，while its disadvantage was high cost （76.50%，140/183）. There were 71.04% （130/183） responders who thought that VATS lobectomy could provide a higher postoperative quality of life for lung cancer patients，while only 12.57% （23/183） responders thought that the 5-year survival rate of VATS was higher than that of open thoracotomy. There were 60.11% （110/183） responders who believed that VATS was less widely performed in China than America，but VATS level of very few hospitals in China was superior or equal to American level. There were 52.46% （96/183） responders who agreed that VATS could be used for the treatment of locally advanced lung cancer. （2） Training situation of VATS lobectomy for lung cancer：Learning class or short-term training （32.24%，59/183） was the best way to learn VATS lobectomy. Their main learning process was from open thoracotomy to mini- thoracotomy then to VATS （60.66%，111/183）. Single-direction thoracoscopic lobectomy was the most popular VATS technique （54.64%，100/183），and its learning curve was at least 30 cases （26.78%，49/183）. （3） VATS application status：VATS was performed in all the hospitals investigated. Benign thoracic diseases were most commonly chosen by thoracic surgeons who started to perform VATS （81.42%，149/183）. The main initial hurdles of VATS lobectomy for lung cancer included poor operation theater conditions and surgical teamwork （39.34%，72/183） as well as unsatisfactory surgical techniques （36.07%，66/183）. Further improvement of VATS technique （118/183，64.48%） was the developmental trend of VATS. Conclusions Thoracic surgeons in China have reached the consensus on the application of VATS for surgical treatment of thoracic diseases including lung cancer. Single-direction thoracoscopic lobectomy is a widely accepted technique. Further trends of VATS training and development are equipment upgrade and better teamwork.