Abstract: Objective To study the energy requirement of patients after gastrointestinal surgery. Methods Rest energy expenditure（REE） in 203 patients before gastrointestinal surgery was assayed by indirect calorimetry（MedGem）.Average energy intake in these patients after gastrointestinal surgery was calculated and compared to the value 1.2×1.1×REE（SEE） and divided into ＜90% SEE group（low energy supplement group）,90%-110% SEE group（medium energy supplement group） and ＞110% SEE group（high energy supplement group）.Anthropometry,grip strength,biochemical and immune indices,subjective global assessment（SGA） were observed. Results The MAMC,grip strength,serum creatinine,magnesium,phosphorus were higher in 90%-110% SEE group than in the other two groups after surgery（P＜0.05）.The level of SGA in 90%-110% SEE group was higher than in the other two groups（P＜0.05）.Although significant differences were observed in blood albumin and hemoglobin of 90%-110% SEE group before and after operation（P＜0.05）,no significant difference was found in the other indices.The value of 90%-110% SEE was equivalent to（1.20±0.15）×Harris-Benedict（HB） equation,（27.22±3.95）×ideal body weight（kg）（IBW）,and（26.00±3.93）×real body weight（kg）（RBW）. Conclusion Energy intake of 90%-110% SEE or 1.2HB,27IBW may be appropriate in patients with gastrointestinal surgery.