OBJECTIVE: To investigate the efficacy and safety of minimally invasive percutaneous nephrolithotomy for the treatment of isolated renal kidney stones. METHODS: Thirty-five patients with isolated kidney stones underwent MPCNL. RESULTS: All 35 cases in this group were successfully established by one puncture, 31 cases had single-channel stone extraction, and 4 cases had multi-channel lithotripsy for deerstalker-shaped stones. MPCNL was performed in 29 cases in the first stage and 6 cases in the second stage. The intraoperative bleeding ranged from 40 to 90 mL, with a mean of (62.6±14.2) mL. 87.8% of the stones were removed (29/35), and the total removal rate was 94.3% (33/35) after second-stage lithotripsy. 1 stone remained in the lower calyx and 1 stone remained in the upper calyx, with a residual diameter of <7 mm. There were no serious complications such as pneumothorax, abdominal organ injury and hemorrhage. The postoperative hospital stay ranged from 5 to 9 d, with an average of 5.4 d. Two cases had postoperative fever. There was no recurrence of stones in 6 to 22 months of postoperative follow-up, with an average of 11 months. Conclusion: MPCNL for isolated kidney stones is an effective and safe treatment option with the advantages of less trauma, faster recovery and less bleeding.