The interaction of glycoprotein 130 (gp130) with the cytokines of Interleukin-6 (IL-6) family has proved to play a crucial part in several cancers. Our current study is designed to discover the clinical prognostic significance of gp130 in non-metastatic gastric cancer. We examined intratumoral gp130 expression in retrospectively enrolled 370 gastric cancer patients who underwent radical gastrectomy with standard D2 lymphadenectomy at Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University during 2007 and 2008 by immunohistochemical staining. The expression of gp130 was significantly correlated with T classification, N classification and TNM stage (P = 0.003, P < 0.001 and P < 0.001, respectively; T, N, TNM refers to Tumor Invasion, Regional lymph node metastasis and Tumor Node Metastasis, respectively). Elevated intratumoral gp130 expression implied unfavourable overall survival (OS) (P < 0.001) and disease-free survival (DFS) (P < 0.001), respectively. Furthermore, among TNM II and III gp130-high patients, those who were treated with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) based adjuvant chemotherapy had better OS (P < 0.001). The generated nomogram performed well in predicting the 3- and 5-year OS of gastric cancer patients. The incorporation of gp130 into contemporary TNM staging system would be of great significance to improve the current individual risk stratification. These findings contribute to better clinical management for those patients who would benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy.