Objective To evaluate the advantages of perioperative painless indwelling urethral catheters in lobectomy of lung cancer. Methods We recruited 133 patients who were scheduled for lung cancer lobectomy under general anesthesia in Department of Thoracic Surgery in West China Hospital from April through December 2014. These patients were divided into two groups including a control group (68 patients) and a trial group (65 patients). The trial group was painless indwelled urethral catheter, and the control group was indwelled urethral catheter routinely. The clinical effectiveness between the two groups was compared. Results The rates of emergence agitation (EA) occurrence and urinary tract infection in the trial group (10.77%, 9.23%) were reduced than those in the control group (26.47%, 26.47%) with statistical differences (P=0.022, P=0.047). And the rate of comfort level (0 degree) of the patients in the trial group (87.69%) was significantly increased than that in the control group (48.53%, P=0.001). And postoperative hospitalization duration in the trial group (5.00±1.60 d) was shorter than that in the control group (6.48±3.14 d, P=0.004). Conclusion Perioperative painless indwelling urethral catheters in lobectomy of lung cancer has benefit of improving the comfort level of the patients and promoting fast-track rehabilitation in the patients with lung cancer.