Objective To summarize the clinical characteristics of laparoscopic unexpected gallbladder cancer (UGC), and to explore the impact of TNM stage and secondary surgery timing on postoperative survival. Methods Clinical data of 70 UGC patients who treated in Xianyang Hospital of Yanan University and The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University from January 2008 to January 2014 were retrospectively analyzed. The influencing of TNM staging and secondary surgery timing on the prognosis of UGC patients were analyzed by single factor analysis. Results Of the 70 patients before operation, 68 patients (97.2%) were diagnosed as calculus of gallbladder, 1 patient (1.4%) was diagnosed as gallbladder polyps, 1 patient (1.4%) was diagnosed as intrahepatic and extrahepatic bile duct stone. TNM staging: 2 patients (2.9%) in stage 0, 9 patients (12.9%) in stage Ⅰ, 50 patients (71.4%) in stage Ⅱ, 6 patients (8.6%) in stage Ⅲa, 1 patient (1.4%) in stage Ⅲb, 1 patient (1.4%) in stage Ⅳa, and 1 patient (1.4%) in stage Ⅳb. Fifty-five patients (78.6%) were confirmed by intraoperative frozen section examination, and 15 patients (21.4%) were confirmed after laparoscopic surgery. There were 66 patients were followed-up for 2-79 months, and the median follow-up time was 28-month, the 1-， 3-, and 5-year survival rates were 92.3%, 70.7%, and 53.7% respectively. The survival curves of stage 0, Ⅰ, Ⅱ, and Ⅲ+Ⅳ were differed significantly (P ＜0.01), the survival situation was best in patients in stage 0 and Ⅰ, but worst in patients in stage Ⅲ+Ⅳ. There was no statistical difference between the prognosis of patients underwent one-stage surgery and those underwent two-stage surgery (P=0.73). Conclusions A large proportion of UGC are in stage Ⅱ. For UGC patients, the prognosis is related with the clinical stage, so the surgical approach does not worsen the prognosis, regardless whether the tumor is detected during or after laparoscopic cholecystectomy.