Background: Recent progress in the surgical therapy for lung cancer is one of the best examples of the successful evolution of clinical medicine. We reviewed our experience to evaluate the surgical outcomes in patients with non-small cell lung cancer. Material and Method: We reviewed clinical records of 432 consecutive patients with proven non-small cell lung cancer who underwent complete removal of the primary tumor together with hilar and mediastinal lymph nodes from 1995 to 2005. The clinical characteristics, surgical methods, and recurrence patterns were analyzed. Result: Lobectomy was the most common procedure (66.7%) performed and sleeve lobectomy was the least (5.6%). In 179 patients (42.6%) the recurrence was noted and the regional recurrence (67 cases, 16.0%) was less than systemic recurrence (112 cases, 26.7%). The main sites of regional recurrence were hilum (25 cases, 37.3%) and ipsilateral mediastinum (54/432 cases, 25.4%). The hospital mortality rate was 2.8% (12/432 cases) and resection-morbidity rate was 12.5% (54/432 cases). Conclusion: The low recurrence rate, especially regional recurrence rate indicated that our surgical procedures with preoperative measures were considered useful and effective.