Objective To compare the effect of laparoscopic versus open appendectomy for acute appendici -tis in the obese population .Methods The clinical data of 96 obese patients performed LA and OA were analyzed ret-rospectively.According to the operation method ,they can be divided into LA ( laparoscopic appendectomy ) group 51 cases and OA(open appendectomy) group 45 cases.The surgical time,intestinal peristalsis recovery time,length of hospital stay ,hospital charges ,the rate of incisional infections and the rate of intra-abdominal infections between the two groups were observed and compared .Results The surgical time ,intestinal peristalsis recovery time ,length of hos-pital stay ,hospital charges ,the rate of incisional infections and the rate of intra-abdominal infections of LA group were (60.5 ±4.4)min,(15.23 ±3.80)h,(5.3 ±0.6)d,(9029.9 ±152.6)yuan,0.00%,7.84%,respectively,which were better than those of OA group[(43.5 ±7.2)min,(40.12 ±7.23)h,(7.3 ±1.2)d,(5 871.8 ±420.0)yuan, 8.89%,0.00%](t=14.1383,21.4633,10.5110,50.1093,χ2 =1.7934,3.6829,all P<0.01).Conclusion LA can be performed safely with superior outcomes compared with OA in obese patients and should be considered the pro -cedure of choice for appendicitis in these patients .