Objective To investigate the risk factors for gastrointestinal dysfunction after gastric cancer surgery and the role of Qihuang Decoction. Methods Clinical data were collected from 83 patients with gastric cancer who underwent D2 radical surgery,and according to the presence or absence of gastrointestinal dysfunction after surgery,they were divided into dysfunction group with 32 patients and non-dysfunction group with 51 patients.A univariate analysis was performed for the clinical data,and the independent factors with P<0.05 were included in the binary logistic regression analysis to investigate the influencing factors for gastrointestinal function after surgery. Results Compared with the non-dysfunction group,the dysfunction group had the independent influencing factors for postoperative gastrointestinal motility:preoperative albumin,tumor size,tumor pTNM pathological stage,tumor cTNM clinical stage,surgical procedure,intraoperative blood loss,and treatment with the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) Qihuang Decoction (P<0.05). The multivariate regression analysis showed that tumor size, surgical procedure,and intraoperative blood loss were risk factors (P<0.05),while preoperative albumin and TCM treatment with Qihuang Decoction were protective factors (P<0.05). Conclusion There is a relatively high incidence rate of early gastrointestinal dysfunction in patients undergoing surgery.The risk factors that can aggravate gastrointestinal dysfunction should be controlled during prevention and treatment,and Qihuang Decoction combined with enteral nutrition should be taken seriously to improve the nutritional status of patients.