Objective To study the early effect of the recovery of the physiological arc on the improvement of clinical symptoms in patients with cervical spondylosis with abnormal cervical arc after surgery. Methods Among patients treated with anterior cervical spine surgery for spinal cervical spondylosis from January 2008 to February 2012, 60 patients (30 males and 30 females) with abnormal cervical spine physiological arc were retrospectively analyzed, including 29 cases of cervical retroflexion and 31 cases of cervical arc straightening, all of whom underwent anterior cervical subtotal resection and fusion internal fixation. According to the preoperative curvature (straightening/retroflexion) and postoperative cervical curvature recovery, there were four groups: preoperative physiological curvature straightening in groups A and B, postoperative physiological curvature recovery in group A (n=14), and no recovery in group B (n=17); preoperative cervical curvature retroflexion in groups C and D, postoperative physiological curvature recovery in group C (n=12), and no recovery in group D (n=17). The cervical spine measurements were performed by tangential angle measurement of the posterior edge of the vertebral body on lateral radiographs, and the overall cervical spine curvature and surgical segment curvature were measured before surgery, on postoperative day 2 and at 3 months after surgery, and the cervical JOA scores were recorded before surgery, at 1 week after surgery and at 3 months after surgery, and the improvement rate of cervical JOA scores after surgery was calculated. The rate of improvement in cervical JOA score was compared between the restored cervical physiological arc group (A and C) and the unrestored group (B and D). The overall cervical spine curvature, surgical segmental curvature and cervical JOA score improved in all four groups after surgery compared with those before surgery, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). The improvement rates of cervical JOA scores at 1 week and 3 months after surgery were better in group A than in group B, and in group C than in group D. The differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). The restoration of cervical spine physiological curvature of patients had a positive impact on the improvement of clinical symptoms after surgery (P<0.05). Conclusion For cervical spine patients with abnormal cervical curvature, anterior cervical decompression graft fusion internal fixation can improve the overall curvature of the cervical spine and the curvature of the operated segment, and can improve the clinical symptoms of patients; restoring the physiological curvature of the cervical spine can lead to better improvement of patients' symptoms.