ObjectiveTo systematically review the postoperative recovery of lung function in patients with early stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) after different operation, such as lobectomy versus segmentectomy and video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) versus traditional open chest surgery.MethodsClinical studies about effect of different surgical methods on lung function in patients with early NSCLC were searched from PubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library, CBM and CNKI databases from inception to October 1st, 2016. Two researchers independently screened literature, extracted data and evaluated the risk of bias of included studies, and then meta-analysis was conducted by RevMan 5.3 and MetaAnalyst software.ResultsA total of 25 studies involving 2 924 patients were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that: compared with lobectomy group, one-second rate difference (ΔFEV1%) (MD=–0.03, 95%CI –0.03 to –0.03, P<0.001) and predictive value of forced vital capacity difference (ΔFVC%) (MD=–0.09, 95%CI –0.11 to –0.06, P<0.001) of preoperative to postoperative in segmentectomy group were higher. However, there was no significant difference between two groups in first second forced expiratory volume difference (ΔFEV1) (MD=0.01, 95%CI –0.10 to 0.11, P=0.92). Compared with thoracotomy group, VATS group had lower ΔFEV1 (MD=–0.19, 95%CI –0.27 to –0.10, P<0.0001), ΔFVC (MD=–0.20, 95%CI –0.37 to –0.03, P=0.02), ΔFEV1% (MD=–0.03, 95%CI –0.06 to –0.01, P<0.001) of preoperative to postoperative (≤3 months), and maximum minute ventilation (ΔMVV) (MD=–5.59, 95%CI –10.38 to –1.52, P=0.008) of preoperative to postoperative (≥6 months). However, there were no statistically significant differences in difference of carbon monoxide diffusion rate (ΔDLCO%) (MD=–0.04, 95%CI –0.09 to 0.02, P=0.16), ΔFEV1% (MD=–0.02, 95%CI –0.06 to 0.02, P=0.32) and ΔFEV1 (MD=1.13, 95%CI –0.92 to 3.18, P=0.28).ConclusionThe protective effect of segmentectomy on postoperative pulmonary function is better than that of lobectomy. VATS has a protective effect on the ventilation function within 3 months and 6 months after surgery. Due to limited quantity and quality of included studies, the above conclusions are needed to be validated by more high quality studies.