Objective To retrospectively analyze the data of patients with T3N0-1M0 nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) who underwent radiotherapy (RT) alone or concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT), and to investigate the relationship between therapeutic modality and prognosis. Methods From January 2004 to December 2004, 781 patients with biopsy-proven newly diagnosed non-metastatic NPC were analyzed in Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, who had MRI data of nasopharynx and neck. With restaged based on the Chinese 2008 staging system, 82 cases of T3N0-1M0 patients who were treated by RT alone or CCRT were enrolled. They were divided into group A (46 cases, RT) and group B (36 cases, CCRT). Results The clinical data was comparable between the two groups. The 5-year overall survival rate (OS) was 93.5 % (group A) and 100 % (group B)(P =0.046), while the 5-year disease-free survival rate (DFS) was 85.2 % (group A) and 91.7 % (group B) (P =0.498). N-Staging was the factor affecting the DFS. Stratified analysis showed that the 5-year OS of T3N0M0 patients was 94.7 % (group A) and 100 % (group B) (P =0.432), those of T3N1M0 patients were 92.6 %(group A) and 100 %(group B) (P =0.066), while the 5-year DFS was 73.7 % (group A) and 89.3 % (group B) (P =0.244). Multifactor analysis showed that CCRT was not the independent factor affecting the OS(HR =0.019; 95 % CI, 0 to 21.793), and N-stage was not the independent factor affecting the DFS (HR = 0.203; 95 % CI, 0.135 to 1.231×104). Conclusion For T3N0M0, NPC patients, CCRT is not superior to RT alone. Whether CCRT can improve survival of T3N1M0 NPC patients needs further study.