Objective To study the methods and outcome of surgical treatment of distal bile duct carcinoma.Methods The clinical data of 51 cases of distal bile duct carcinoma who underwent surgery were analyzed retrospectively.Of them,28 cases received radical pancreaticoduodenectomy,and 23 cases had internal bile duct drainage procedures.Results The total average survival time was 20 months.The mean survival time of radical and drainage operation was 32 months and 8 months respectively.Postoperative 5-year survival rate in radical pancreaticoduodenectomy group was 17.8%,and in drainage group was 0.The outcome of radical pancreaticoduodenectomy group was significantly better than that of internal bile duct drainage procedures group(P