Objective To compare the digital drainage system and the traditional drainage system in the patients after lung surgery, and to evaluate the advantages of digital drainage system. Methods A retrospective analysis of consecutive 42 patients with lung surgery between September 2016 and May 2017 in Beijing University International Hospital was done. There were 30 males and 12 females with a median age of 34 years ranging 19-81 years. After the surgery 21 patients adopted Thopaz digital drainage device (a DDS group), and the other 21 patients adopted traditional drainage (a TDS group). Duration of air leakage and chest tube placement, length of hospital stay, thoracic drainage volume within 48 h and hospitalization expenses in the two groups were compared. Results The patients in the two groups were all successfully discharged. Compared with the TDS group, duration of air leakage and chest tube placement and length of hospital stay significantly shortened in the DDS group (35.6±16.3 h vs. 48.2±20.1 h, P=0.02; 50.0±16.1 h vs. 62.0±20.4 h, P=0.03; 5.9±2.3 d vs. 7.8±3.5 d, P=0.02), and thoracic drainage volume within 48 h and hospitalization expenses showed no significant statistical difference between the two groups. Conclusion Using digital drainage system after lung surgery can significantly shorten the duration of air leakage and the postoperative drainage, at the same time, without increasing the overall hospitalization expenses.