Objective To determine whether the basal characteristics and survival of young patients undergoing surgical resection of nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) differ from those of elderly patients. And, we would discuss the special perioperative management in elderly patients with NSCLC. Methods 178 NSCLC patients who underwent surgery in our hospital between Jan. to Dec. in 2002 were divided into two groups according to age. Young group comprised 89 patients aged 50 years or younger and elderly group comprised 89 patients aged 70 years or older. The patients’ clinical data, operative style,postoperative complications and survival results were reviewed and analysed. Results The proportion of the elderly group squamous cell carcinoma patients was higher than that of the younger group （χ2=9.281,P=0.000.）,but there was no significant difference between the gender, smoking, histology, TNM stage, type of resection, post operation chemotherapy or radiotherapy（χ2≤5.569，Pgt;0.05）. The incidence of the preoperative cardiovascular disease, chronic bronchitis in the elderly group patients were higher than those of younger group（χ2=14.053，P=0.000;χ2=13.044，P=0.000）.The incidence of postoperative complications was significantly higher in elderly group than those of younger group（χ2=12842，P=0.000）. The 1, 3 and 5year survival rates were 71.43％，33.53％ and 27.83％ in elderly group, and 77.78％，46.67％ and 44.07％ in young group, respectively. However, the 1, 3 and 5year survival rates for patients in two groups showed no difference between two groups（Pgt;0.05）. Conclusion The elderly patients have higher operative risk than that of young patients. We should pay more attention to the perioperative management of elderly patients. The elderly patients could get acceptable long term survival rates through surgical treatment. Operation is still the first choice for elderly patients with NSCLC.