Objective The objective of this retrospective study was to investigate the prognostic factors associated with survival among patients with extensive stage-small cell lung cancer(ES-SCLC). Methods Clinical data from 66 patients with ES-SCLC diagnosed via histopathology or cytology between July 2005 and July 2009 at Anyang Tumor Hospital(China) were analyzed. Univariate and multivariate Kaplan-Meier, log-rank, and Cox proportional hazard regression analyses were conducted. Results The 12-, 24-, and 36-month survival rates among patients with ES-SCLC were 40.9%, 13.6%, and 6.1%, respectively. The median survival time(MST) was 10 months. Univariate analyses indicated that weight loss, efficacy of first-line chemotherapy, total number of chemotherapy cycles, treatment method, and serum sodium levels significantly influenced survival among patients with ES-SCLC. Multivariate analyses suggested that the efficacy of first-line chemotherapy, total number of chemotherapy cycles, and serum sodium levels were independent prognostic factors associated with survival. Conclusion The efficacy of first-line chemotherapy, total number of chemotherapy cycles, and serum sodium levels are important prognostic factors for patients with ES-SCLC. Objective The objective of this retrospective study was to investigate the prognostic factors associated with survival among patients with extensive stage-small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC). Methods Clinical data from 66 patients with ES-SCLC diagnosed via histopathology or cytology between July 2005 Results from 12-, 24-, and 36-month survival rates among patients with and without Cox proportional-hazards regression were analyzed by Kaplan-Meier, a log-rank, and Cox proportional hazards regression analysis conducted from July 2009 at Anyang Tumor Hospital The median survival time (MST) was 10 months. Univariate analyzes indicate that weight loss, efficacy of first-line chemotherapy, total number of cycles of chemotherapy, treatment method, and serum sodium levels significantly influenced survival among patients with ES-SCLC. Multivariate analyzes that that efficacy first-line chemotherapy, total number of chemotherapy cycles, and serum sodium levels were independent prognostic factors associated with survival. Conclusion The efficacy of first-line chemotherapy, total number of chemotherapy cycles, and serum sodium levels are important prognostic factors for patients with ES-SCLC.