Objective To investigate the curative effect of laparoscopic or laparoscopically-assisted repair of gastrointestinal perforation. Methods Eighteen patients with gastroduodenal perforation underwent laparoscopic full-thickness repair with greater omentum covering. One patient with intestinal perforation underwent double-layer suture.Three patients with intestinal perforation were treated with mini-incisional repair or partial enterectomy.One patient with perforation of the sigmoid colon received laparoscopically-assisted loop sigmoidostomy.Results Laparoscopic repair was successfully accomplished in 18 patients,while laparoscopically-assisted repair was carried out in 3 patients with intestinal perforation and 1 patient with perforation of the sigmoid colon.The operation time was 35~80 min(mean,50 min).No complications occurred.Follow-up observations in 23 patients for 6~24 months(mean,18 months) revealed no recurrence of peptic ulcer in 18 patients with gastroduodenal perforation within 6~8 months and no intestinal obstruction. Conclusions Laparoscopic operations for gastrointestinal perforation is micro-invasive and effective.