Objective To study the efficacy and toxicity of combined chemotherapy of paclitaxel and carboplatin in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods Seventy-eight patients with advanced NSCLC received combined chemotherapy of paclitaxel 150*!mg/m2 and carboplatin 300*!mg/m2. Results The response rate of native patients was 56.9% (33/58) and that of the repeated treatment group was 35% (7/20). The overall response rate was 51.3%(40/78). Four patients (5.1%) had complete response. The median duration of survival was 9 months, and 1-year survival rate was 33.3% (26/78). Toxicity was chiefly hematologic in the form of neutropenia. The major nonhematologic toxicity was arthromyalgia. Conclusion Combination chemotherapy of paclitaxel and carboplatin is well tolerated and effective in the treatment of advanced NSCLC.