Objective Surgical repair for giant lower ventral hernia is facing challenge owing to enormous tissue defect and the critical structures of pubis and il iac vessels. To investigate the method and curative effect of intraperitoneal onlay mesh (IPOM) combined with Sublay for compound repair of giant lower ventral hernia. Methods Between November 2008 and August 2010, 26 patients with giant lower ventral hernia were treated. There were 15 males and 11 females with an averageage of 61 years (range, 36-85 years), including 11 cases of lower midl ine incisional hernia due to radical rectal procedures, 6 cases of Pfannenstiel incisional hernia due to radical uterectomy, and 9 cases of lower midl ine incisional hernia due to radical cystectomy. Of them, 11 patients underwent previous repair procedures. The mean time from hernia to admission was 8.5 years (range, 1-15 years). All hernias were defined as M3-4-5W3 according to classification criteria of Europe Hernia Society. The mean longest diameter was 17.5 cm (range, 13-21 cm) preoperatively. Before 2 weeks of operation, abdominal binder was tightened gradually until the contents of hernia sac were reduced totally, and then reconstruction of abdominal wall was performed with compound repair of IPOM and Sublay technique. Results All of compound repair procedures were performed successfully. The mean hernia size was 112.5 cm2 (range, 76.2-160.6 cm2); the mean polypropylene mesh size was 120.4 cm2 (range, 75.3-170.5 cm2); and the mean compound mesh size was 220.0 cm2 (range, 130.4-305.3 cm2). The mean operative time was 155.5 minutes (range, 105.0-195.0 minutes) and the mean postoperative hospital ization time were 12 days (range, 7-16 days). Incisions healed by first intention; 4 seromas (15.4%) and 3 chronic pains (11.5%) occurred and were cured after symptomatic treatment. All patients were followed up 3-24 months (mean, 14.5 months). No recurrence and any other discomforts related to repair procedure occurred. Conclusion Compound repair of IPOM and Sublay is a safe and efficient surgical procedure for giant lower ventral hernia, owing to its characteristics of adequate patch overlap and low recurrence rate. Perioperative management and operative technology play the key role in the success of repair procedure.