Objective To investigate the clinicopathological features, treatment and prognosis of primary pulmonary lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma (PPLELC). Methods Forty-five patients with PPLELC admitted to Sichuan Cancer Hospital from April 2016 to March 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. Their clinical data and survival were collected and summarized. Results Of the 45 patients, 28.9% (13/45) were asymptomatic, 97.2% (35/36) were positive for Epstein-Barr virus encoded small RNA, 83.3% (10/12) were positive for programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1), and the tumor proportion score (TPS) fluctuated between 10.0% to 95.0%. Genetic testing revealed 1 case of EGFR gene 19-Del mutation. Among the 45 patients, 28 cases received surgical treatment, of which 16 received adjuvant chemotherapy, 8 received adjuvant radiotherapy, and 2 received neoadjuvant chemotherapy. As of the follow-up cut-off date, 33 patients survived and 12 patients died, with a median survival time not reached and an overall survival rate of 70.2% and 63.2% at 3 and 5 years, respectively. The 3- and 5-year disease-free survival rates were 67.2% and 57.6% for the 28 operated patients, respectively, and the progression-free survival rates were 58.3% and 29.2% for the 13 stage Ⅳ patients, respectively. Conclusions PPLELC is associated with Epstein-Barr virus infection and is a rare subtype of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Most patients do not have common gene mutations such as EGFR or ALK and have a high rate of positive PD-L1 expression. The disease is usually treated with a multi-method combination of mainly surgery, and is sensitive to radiotherapy and chemotherapy and has a better prognosis than other types of NSCLC.