Objective To observe the clinical effect of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) in elderly patients with right colon cancer. MethodsA total of 90 elderly patients who were diagnosed as right colon cancer and underwent radical resection of right colon cancer in the Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery of the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University from April 2018 to October 2018 were enrolled prospectively. These patients were randomly divided into two groups: ERAS group (n=44) receiving ERAS during perioperative period and control group (n=46) undergoing conventional surgical treatment. To compare the occurrence of postoperative complications, the recovery of gastrointestinal function, and the changes of serum inflammatory factors between the two groups before and after operation. Results① There was no significant difference in the incidence of total postoperative complications and the incidence of complications (including anastomotic leakage, incision infection, postoperative bleeding, intestinal obstruction, cardiovascular complications, pulmonary infection, and urethral infection） between the ERAS group and the control group (P>0.05). ② The first anal exhaust time, postoperative fever time, postoperative hospitalization time, quality of life score, and hospitalization cost of the ERAS group were better than those of the control group (P<0.05). ③ There were no significant difference in serum IL-6, TNF-α, and CRP levels between the two groups before operation (P>0.05), but on the 1st and 3rd day after operation, the three indexes of the control group were higher than those of the ERAS group (P<0.05). ConclusionThe application of the idea of ERAS in the elderly patients with right colon cancer can promote the recovery of gastrointestinal function, shorten the hospitalization time, and improve the clinical outcome.