Objective To investigate the incidence of metabolic syndrome (MS) in patients with gastric cancer, and to explore the relationship between MS and the tumor site and the influence of MS on surgical procedure and short-term outcomes of patients with gastric cancer. Methods The clinical data of 639 patients with gastric cancer who were admitted to the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University from January 2006 to June 2008 were retrospectively analyzed. Patients with MS were in the MS group ( n= 64) and those without MS were in the control group ( n = 575 ). The surgical and postoperative complications were reviewed and the tumor site, intraoperative conditions and short-term outcomes between the two groups were analyzed. All data were analyzed using the chi-square test or t test. Results The incidence of MS in patients with gastric cancer was 10.0% (64/639).The incidence of MS in female patients was 14.4% (27/188), which was significantly higher than 8.2% (37/451)of male patients ( χ2= 6.265, P < 0.05). The operation time of the MS group was ( 185 ± 133 ) minutes, which was significantly longer than ( 168 ± 50) minutes of the control group ( t = 2. 126, P < 0. 05 ). The number of lymph nodes dissected in the MS group was 18 ± 11, which was significantly lower than 21 ± 11 of the control group ( t = 2. 125, P < 0.05 ). The postoperative period of fever of the MS group was (3.0 ± 1.4) days, which was significantly longer than (2.5 ± 1.4) days of the control group (t = 2. 433, P < 0.05 ). The incidence of postoperative complications of the MS group was 31.3% (20/64), which was significantly higher than 14.3% (82/575) of the control group ( χ2 = 12.291, P < 0.05 ). The length of hospital stay of the MS group was ( 19 ± 11 ) days,which was significantly longer than ( 16±11 ) days of the control group ( t = 2. 141, P< 0.05 ). The mortalities of MS group and control group were 0 and 0. 5% (3/575), respectively, with no significant difference ( χ2 = 0.000,P >0.05). Condusions A low prevalence of MS is found in patients with gastric cancer. However, patients with gastric cancer complicated with MS may present with prolonged surgical procedure, reduced amount of lymph nodes dissected and increased incidence of postoperative complications, hospital stay and costs. Perioperative management of patients with gastric cancer complicated with MS should be paid more attention.