Abstract: Objective: To investigate the postoperative recurrence patterns in patients with resected stage Ⅲ (N₂disease) non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). Methods: Clinical data of ninety-six patients with NSCLC, who underwent radical surgery and were diagnosed to be with mediastinal lymph node metastasis (N₂ disease) determined by histopathologic examination, were reviewed. Patients were followed up and checked up every six months for two years to detect recurrence lesion. The rate of local recurrence and distant metastasis within two years were calculated. The impact of postoperative adjuvant therapy on local recurrence and distant metastasis was compared by x² test. Results: Two-year recurrence rate was 37.5%. The main recurrence pattern was of distant metastasis (77.8%), and most patients were with brain and lung metastasis (64.3%). Local recurrence rate in patients with adjuvant radiotherapy was lower than that of patients without adjuvant radiotherapy (5.2% vs 23.7%, OR=5.69 P<0.05). There was no significant difference in local recurrence and metastatic recurrence of patients with and without adjuvant chemotherapy(P>0.05). Conclusion: Distant metastasis was main patterns of postoperative failure in patients with resected stage Ⅲ (N₂ disease) NSCLC. Adjuvant radiotherapy could decrease local recurrence rate.