Abstract: The exloliative malignant cells in abdominal cavity examined in 142 patients with gastric cancer were reported here. The cells were mainly obtained by irrigation with normal saline during operation. The positive rate of exfoliative cells in this series was 53.5％ （76/142）. The relationships between the localization and the pathological types of cancer and the positive rate of the exfoliative cells in the abdominal cavity were discussed, showing no significent differences. Moreover, according to the TNM staging of the gastric cancer, the positive rate of stage I was 80％,while those of the stage Ⅱ, Ⅲ, Ⅳ were 36％, 42.6％, and 66.2％ respectively. So this method isnotonly worth using to detect the early metastasis of gastric cancer in the abdominal cavity and to have a reasonable management of the tumor, but also may improve our understanding about the prognosis of it.