Abstract： Objective To investigate the predictive value of preoperative serum matrix metalloproteinase-9(MMP-9)and interleukin-6(IL-6)levels on postoperative recurrence in patients with non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC)undergoing vide-o-assisted thoracoscopy(VATS).Methods 98 patients with NSCLC were prospectively selected as the study subjects.All pa-tients received VATS treatment and were followed up for 2 years after operation.Recurrence was used as the end point of follow-up,and the recurrence was recorded.The patients with recurrence were included in the recurrence group,and the patients without recurrence were included in the non recurrence group.All patients were examined for serum MMP-9 and IL-6 before operation.The baseline data of patients were counted and the predictive value of serum MMP-9 and IL-6 for postoperative recurrence of VATS in patients with NSCLC was analyzed.Results 98 patients with NSCLC were followed up for 2 years after VATS.29 cases recurred during VATS.The recurrence rate was 29.59％.The proportion of patients with TNM stage Ⅱ～Ⅲ and the levels of ser-um MMP-9 and IL-6 in the recurrence group were higher than those in the non recurrence group,the difference was statistically significant(P＜0.05).The levels of serum MMP-9 and IL-6 were positively correlated with the recurrence of NSCLC patients af-ter VATS.Especially when serum MMP-9＞421.715 ng/L and IL-6＞11.025 ng/L,the risk of recurrence of NSCLC patients after VATS increased with the increase of MMP-9 and IL-6 levels.The ROC curve was drawn.The AUC of serum MMP-9 and IL-6 lev-els in NSCLC patients before VATS alone and in combination to predict postoperative recurrence was＞0.70,which had certain predictive value.Conclusion The serum levels of MMP-9 and IL-6 in NSCLC patients before VATS may be a risk factor for postoperative recurrence,which may have certain value in early prediction of postoperative recurrence risk.