Abstract： Objective To investigate the effect of preoperative oral carbohydrate （CHO） administration on perioperative risks of patients with surgical thoracic oncology，and provide evidence for establishing new scientific preoperative fasting strategy.Methods?In this prospective study， from July to September 2010，32 out of 65 enrolled patients with surgical thoracic oncology in Department 1 of Thoracic Surgery，Cancer Hospital of Peking University， were randomly allocated to preoperative experiment group （fasting overnight and oral 12.5% dextrose 400 ml administration 2 h before anesthesia induction） or control group （fasting overnight and water deprivation from midnight）. Clinical data were collected including subjective evaluation of thirst and hunger measured by visual analogue scale （VAS）， blood glucose level（BGL），serum insulin level， homeostasis model assessment insulin resistance（HOMA-IR），postoperative length of hospital stay （LOS） and complications.Results?Sixteen patients were enrolled in each group. VAS scores of thirst and hunger of the preoperative experiment group at 1 h before anesthesia induction were significantly lower than those of the control group（24 vs. 49，24 vs. 62 ，P=0.000）. BGL（8.59±0.43 mmol/L vs. 5.59±0.43 mmol/L， P=0.000）， serum insulin level （24.33±1.80 mIU/ ml vs. 16.28±1.80 mIU/ml， P=0.004）and HOMA-IR（9.23±0.77 vs. 4.03±0.77，P=0.000）of the preoperative experiment group before anesthesia induction were significantly higher than those of the control group，and these three variables of the preoperative experiment group returned to baseline level soon after surgery. There was no statistical difference in postoperative LOS and complication rate between the two groups （P＞0.05）.Conclusion?Preoperative oral CHO treatment is safe for non-diabetic patients with surgical thoracic oncology， can alleviate their subjective discomfort，decrease insulin resistance， and ameliorate their perioperative stress and metabolism.