Objective To investigate clinical efficacy of laparoscopic cholecystectomy via left side approach for patients with acute cholecystitis. Methods One hundred and twenty patients with acute cholecystitis from January 2015 to May 2017 were collected. All of the patients were divided into observation group and control group according to the operative mode, with 60 cases in each group. In the observation group, the patients were treated by laparoscopic cholecystectomy via left side approach using the ligation-free technique to the main trunk of the cystic artery; in the control group, the patients were treated by the conventional laparoscopic cholecystectomy. After treatment, the operative situation, postoperative recovery, and incidence of postoperative complications were compared between these two groups. Results Compared with the control group, the operative time, first anal exhaust time, hospitalization stay, leukocytes recovery time, and coagulation function recovery time were shortened and the intraoperative bloods loss was reduced in the observation group, the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). Furthermore, the overall postoperative complication incidence rate of the observation group was significantly lower than that of the control group (P<0.05). Conclusion For patients with acute cholecystitis, laparoscopic cholecystectomy via left side approach using ligation-free technique to main trunk of cystic artery is reliable and safe, which can effectively improve operative situation, shorten operative time, promote recovery of patient, and reduce incidence of postoperative complications.