Abstract: Objective To explore the efficacy of different surgeries for gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) and their effects on perioperative indexesand prognosis. Methods 60 cases of GIST patients admitted in our hospital from October 2006 to November 2016 were selected and were divided into the study group (n =35, given the laparoscopic surgery) and the control group ( n =25, given the laparotomy) . The perioperative indexes, gastrointestinal function before and after operation [ (gastrin (GAS) , motilin (MTL) , vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) ], postoperative recurrence risk grade and complications were recorded in the two groups. Results There was no significant difference between the two groups in the operation time (P>0.05) , and the intraoperative blood loss volume and postoperative 3 d pain score in the study group were lower than those in the control group, and the postoperative exhaust time, eating time and hospital stay were shorter than those in the control group (P<0.05) . The levels of plasma GAS, MTL and VIP in the study group were higher than those in the control group after operation (P<0.05) . There was no significant difference in the postoperative recurrence risk grade and the incidence rate of complications between the two groups (P>0.05) . Conclusions Compared with the conventional laparotomy, laparoscopic surgery has better efficacy for GIST and has advantages of small trauma, mild pain and fast postoperative gastrointestinal function recovery, and it will not increase the risk of long-term recurrence and complications, therefore it has a good application prospect.