An exceedingly rare case of perforated early gastric cancer is reported. A 68-year-old man developed peritonitis due to perforation of early gastric cancer. An emergency radical operation was performed and was followed by an uneventful recovery. Histologic examination of the surgical specimen showed type III early gastric cancer composed of a signet ring cell carcinoma. Five years after surgery, the patients was alive with no evidence of tumor recurrence. The rarity of this complication in early gastric cancer is discussed, and a review of the literature is presented.