Recently, our department successfully completed a case of hand-assisted laparoscopic (HALS) radical rectal cancer, and the patient recovered well after surgery and has been successfully discharged from the hospital. The patient, female, 56 years old. She was admitted to the hospital on April 3, 2015 due to increased frequency of stool with anal swelling for 6 months. On admission: T.36.7°C P.87 beats/min R.20 beats/min BP.118/72 mmHg, good general condition, normal vital signs. Head, neck, heart and lungs (-). Rectal finger examination: a hard cauliflower-like mass was found at 8 cm from the anal verge in the truncated position at 4-7 points, with movability and no obvious adhesions to the sacrum and prostate. The finger sleeve was stained with blood. Our proctoscopic report: a cauliflower-shaped mass was seen 8-10 cm from the anal verge, occupying 1/3 of the intestinal lumen. Pathology report: adenocarcinoma. After active preoperative preparation, radical surgery for HALS rectal cancer was performed under general anesthesia on April 9, 2015. Intraoperative findings: the tumor was located in the left wall of the mid-rectum, with a hard texture and insignificant external invasion. No enlarged lymph nodes were found in the abdominal cavity. No metastasis was found in the liver, spleen and peritoneum. After surgery, the specimen was cut open and the tumor was found to be located in the left wall of the rectum, ulcerated, with grayish-white cut surface, occupying 1/3 circumference of the rectum and invading the muscular layer. The operation went well with intraoperative bleeding of 100 ml. The postoperative recovery was good, with good healing of the incision and normal bowel function. Postoperative pathological diagnosis: adenocarcinoma of the rectum with no lymph node metastasis. He was successfully discharged from the hospital on May 3, 2015. Hand-assisted laparoscopic (HALS) surgery is the third stage of laparoscopic development (first stage fully laparoscopic, second stage laparoscopically assisted), which is currently used in 1/3 – 1/2 of all laparoscopic surgeries in Western countries.