Objective To investigate the diagnosis and surgical treatment of pancreatic cystic tumor.Methods The clinical data of 19 cases of pancreatic cystic tumor from January 2000 to August 2009 was retrospectively analyzed. Results Patients with pancreatic cystic tumor has no specific clinical feature.Ultrasound and CT were main image examinations, but they could not distinguish the pathologic types, and the diagnostic accuracy when compared with postoperative pathologic results was 57.9% (11/19) and 68.4%(13/19) respectively. The tumors were located in the pancreatic head and neck in 5 cases, body and tail in 14 cases, the maxim diameter was between 3 ～ 15 cm. All patients underwent surgical treatment; the rate of curative resection was 84. 2% ( 16/19 ). The rate of intraoperative misdiagnosis was 21.0% ( 4/19 ).Pathologic examination results showed 6 cases of serous cystadenoma, 6 cases of mucinous cystadenoma, 5 cases of mucinous cystadenocarcinoma, and 2 cases of intraductal papillary mucinous adenoma. 15 ( 78.9% )patients were followed up. Among the 3 patients with mucinous cystadenocarcinoma, one patient who received curative resection survived for 4 years with no evidence of recurrence; the other 2 patients died 4 months and 7 months later. 12 cases of cystadenoma were alive without recurrence. Four patients, including 2 patients of cystadenoma and 2 patients of cystadenocarcinoma were lost in follow-up. Conclusions To be aware of pancreatic cystic tumors is the key to reduce misdiagnosis and mistreatment. Surgical treatment is the treatment of choice with excellent prognosis.