Abstract: Objective: To study the clinical significance of pelvic and para-aortic lymph node sampling in endometrial carcinoma. Methods: Data of 311 patients who received surgical treatment in our hospital during the period from January 1995 to December 2002 were analyzed. Among the patients 197 underwent lymph node sampling or lymphadenectomy. The patients were divided into 2 groups based on the surgical method used for the lymph node dissection. The sampling group included 114 patients who underwent an extrafascial hysterectomy or modified radical hysterectomy plus pelvic or para-aortic lymph node sampling of abdominal aorta, and the dissection group included 83 patients who received radical or modified radical hysterectomy plus systemic pelvic lymph node clearance or paraaortic lymph node dissection of the abdominal aorta. Results: The median number of lymph nodes removed was 5 in the sampling group and the median number of lymph nodes sampled was 15 per case.Lymph node metastasis was found in 8 cases. In the dissection group, the median number of lymph nodes removed was 8 and the median number of lymph nodes sampled was 27 per case. Lymph node metastasis was found in 6 cases. The 5-year survival rate was 90.2% in the sampling group and 90.9%in the dissection group. Conclusion: Lymph node sampling is a good way to precisely locate endometrial cancer lymphatic metastasis and this method is suitable for surgical staging without causing extensive surgical damage or affecting the survival rate.