OBJECTIVE To investigate the differences between the clinicopathologic characteristics and prognostic factors in patients with localized and infiltrative gastric cancer (GC). METHODS Patients with advanced GC, who were admitted to the Department of Surgical Oncology of the First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, during a period of January 1980-January 2000, were divided into the localized and infiltrative GC groups. A comparative analysis of the clinicopathologic data and prognosis in the patients enrolled in the study was carried out based on the different macroscopic types. RESULTS There were significant differences in the sex ratio, tumor location, histologic type, depth of invasion, lymph node metastasis, lymphovascular cancer embolus (LVCE), growth patt, and degree of radical surgery between the 2 groups. However, there were no significant differences in age, tumor size, and intravenous cancer embolus between the 2 groups. The prognosis of the infiltrative GC group was poor. There were significant differences in the prognosis of the patients between the 2 groups when tumor infiltration was within the muscular layer or subserosa, yet the differences disappeared once the tumor infiltration was beyond the serosal layer. The prognosis of the patients with localized GC was closely related to tumor location and lymph node metastasis. The prognostic factors of the patients in the infiltrative GC group included lymph node metastasis, depth of invasion, and tumor size.CONCLUSION There are significant differences in the clinicopathologic characteristics and prognosis between the 2 groups. Based on the biological characteristics of the tumors, individualized therapeutic plans will help to improve the treatment outcome.