Objectives To investigate the association of anesthesia recovery time and bispectral index (BIS) monitoring after gastrointestinal surgeries under general anesthesia. Methods A total of 404 cases of selective gastrointestinal surgeries under general anesthesia with BIS monitoring in West China Hospital of Sichuan University from January 2016 to June 2016 were retrieved from anesthesia medical record system as BIS monitoring exposure cohort (group BIS). In addition, 404 cases of selective gastrointestinal surgeries without BIS monitoring were matched as none BIS monitoring exposure cohort (group non-BIS). The primary outcome was the anesthesia recovery time, including the time from the end of surgery to endotracheal extubation (t1) and exiting the operation room (t2). A sub-group analysis was conducted based on patients’ age, length of operation time (t0) and type of surgery(open surgeries vs laparoscopic surgeries). Results The gender, age, body weight and ASA categories between two groups had no significant differences (P>0.05). The length of operation time also had no significant differences between two groups (P>0.05). The extubation time (10.1±4.4vs. 16.4±6.8) and OR exiting time (21.7±12.3 vs. 27.4±14.6) in group BIS were shorter than those in group non-BIS (P<0.05). This difference was markedly significant among elderly patients (age>60) or patients undergoing long operations (operation time>5hours). Among each group, the recovery time had no significant difference between open surgeries and laparoscopic surgeries. Conclusions There is an association between BIS monitoring and shorter anesthesia recovery time in gastrointestinal surgery, including the time of endotracheal extubation and exiting the operation room. BIS monitoring enhances anesthesia recovery among elderly patients and patients undergoing long-lasting operations in particular. There is no significant difference in anesthesia recovery time between open surgeries and laparoscopic surgeries.