Objective To investigate the clinical characteristics, survival rate and factors affecting prognosis of ovarian epithelial cell carcinoma in young women. Methods Clinical data of 455 patients with ovarian epithelial cell carcinoma admitted from 1985 to 1997 were retrospectively analyzed. The survival rate was calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method, and the independent factors affecting the prognosis of patients were compared using the Cox risk proportional regression model. Results: 92 patients in the ≤40-year-old group and 363 patients in the >40-year-old group. The proportion of early-stage, highly differentiated, mucinous carcinoma was significantly higher in the ≤40-year-old group than in the >40-year-old group, and the proportion of plasma carcinoma, ascites, and tumor residual was lower than in the >40-year-old patients, and the differences were all significant (P<0.05). The 5-year survival rates were 79.5% and 28.2% in the ≤40 years and >40 years groups, respectively, and the differences were highly significant (P<0.001). Univariate analysis of the same clinical stage, tissue type, grading, and tumor residual status between the two groups showed that the survival rate of patients ≤40 years old was significantly higher than that of those >40 years old under the same circumstances. Multifactorial analysis showed that clinical stage, tumor residual status and age were independent factors affecting prognosis. Conclusion Patients with ovarian epithelial cell carcinoma aged ≤40 years had a high proportion of early-stage, grade I, mucinous cystic adenocarcinoma, small tumor remnants, less ascites, and a high overall 5-year survival rate. Clinical stage, tumor remnant, and age were independent factors affecting the prognosis of ovarian epithelial cell carcinoma.