We analyzed 91 patients who had curative resection from 1982 to 1989 for stage I and II primary lung cancer. The 5-year survival rates were 71.4% for stage I and 44.7% for stage II. The 5-year survival rates were 86.6% for T 1 N 0 M 0, 47.3% for T 2 N 0 M 0, 56.3% for T 1 N 1 M 0, and 37.9% for T 2 N 1 M 0. There was no cancer death in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of T 1 N 0 M 0. For stage I, tumor diameter was significant factor to influence survival. Although there was a statistically significant difference between stage I and II in patients with adenocarcinoma, there was no significant difference in those with squamous cell carcinoma. Chemotherapy had no significant improvement in survival for stage I and II lung cancer.