Ovarian cancer is one of the leading causes of death among gynecological cancers. This is because the majority of patients present with advanced stage disease. Primary debulking surgery(PDS) followed by adjuvant chemotherapy is still a mainstay of treatment. An optimal surgery, which is currently defined by leaving no gross residual tumor, is the goal of PDS. The extent of disease as well as the operative setting, including the surgeon’s skill, infl uences the likelihood of successful debulking. With extensive disease and a poor chance of optimal surgery or high morbidity anticipated, neoadjuvant chemotherapy(NACT) prior to primary surgery is an option. Secondary surgery after induction chemotherapy is termed interval debulking surgery(IDS). Delayed PDS or IDS is offered to patients who show some clinical response and are without progressive disease. NACT or IDS has become more established in clinical practice and there are numerous publications regarding its advantages and disadvantages. However, data on survival are limited and inconsistent. Only one large randomized trial could demonstrate that NACT was not inferior to PDS while the few randomized trials on IDS had inconsistent results. Without a defi nite benefi t of NACT prior to surgery over PDS, one must carefully weigh the chances of safe and successful PDS against the morbidity and risks of suboptimal surgery. Appropriate selection of a patient to undergo PDS followed by chemotherapy or, preferably, to have NACT prior to surgery is very important. Some clinical characteristics from physical examination, serum tumor markers and/or fi ndings from imaging studies may be predictive of resectability. However, no specific features have been consistently identifi ed in the literature. This article will address the clinical data on prediction of surgical outcomes, the role of NACT, and the role of IDS. Ovarian cancer is one of the leading causes of death among gynecological cancers. This is because the majority of patients present with advanced stage disease. Primary surgery (PDS) followed by adjuvant chemotherapy is still a mainstay of treatment. currently defined by leaving no gross residual tumor, is the goal of PDS. The extent of disease as well as the operative setting, including the surgeon’s skill, infl uences the likelihood of successful debulking. With extensive disease and a poor chance of optimal surgery or Secondary morbidity anticipated, neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) prior to primary surgery is an option. Secondary surgery after induction chemotherapy is termed interval debulking surgery (IDS). Delayed PDS or IDS is offered to patients who show some clinical response and are without progressive disease. NACT or IDS has become more established in clinical practice and there are numerous publications regarding its advantages and disadvantagags es. However, data on survival are limited and inconsistent. Only one large randomized trial could demonstrate that NACT was not inferior to PDS while the few randomized trials on IDS had inconsistent results. Without a defi nite benefi t of NACT prior to surgery over PDS , one must carefully weigh the chances of safe and successful PDS against the morbidity and risks of suboptimal surgery. Appropriate selection of a patient to undergo PDS followed by chemotherapy or, preferably, to have NACT prior to surgery is very important. physical examination, serum tumor markers and / or fi ndings from imaging studies may be predictive of resectability. However, no specific features have been consistently identifi ed in the literature. This article will address the clinical data on prediction of surgical outcomes, the role of NACT, and the role of IDS.