Abstract: Objective To observe the effect of rib cage method and conventional cross rib cage method on postoperative pain in patients with thoracic surgery． Methods Sixty-six patients with thoracic surgery in The First Hospital of Yulin from April 2013 to April 2015 were chosen and they were randomly divided into treatment group (n = 33) and control group (n = 33)． Patients in treatment group were treated by ribs perforated closed chest method, while patients in control group were treated by conventional cross ribs close chest method． The effects of two different kinds of thoracic surgery on postoperative pain and postoperative complications in patients were analyzed and compared． Results There were no significant differences in age, sex and different types of operation． Postoperative pain was evaluated by visual analogous scale (VAS), the effect of postoperative pain in treatment group was obviously superior to control group (4．5±1．2) vs (5．7±1．8), P< 0．05, and the postoperative pulmonary complications occurred rate in treatment group was lower than that of control group (9．09% vs 27．2%, P< 0．05)． Conclusion The rib cage method can significantly reduce postoperative pain and the incidence of pulmonary complications．