Background: Endoscopic submucosal dissection has become the preferred treatment for early gastric cancer without lymph node metastasis (LNM). The risk of LNM is different among different pathological types of early gastric cancer. Aims: To investigate the risk factors of LNM in patients with early gastric cancer. Methods: The clinicopathological features of 1 093 early gastric cancer patients underwent radical gastrectomy and diagnosed by pathology from January 2005 to December 2019 at Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital and Nanjing Gaochun People's Hospital were retrospectively analyzed. Risk factors of LNM in patients with early gastric cancer were analyzed by univariate analysis and logistic regression model analysis. Results: A total of 1 093 patients with early gastric cancer were enrolled, and positive LNM was found in 154 patients (14.1%). Univariate analysis showed that gender, age, tumor size, tumor location, gross classification, depth of tumor invasion, vascular and nerve invasion, differentiation type, ulcers were related with LNM (P<0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that age (OR=1.654, 95% CI: 1.102-2.480, P=0.015), tumor location (OR=1.617, 95% CI: 1.227-2.131, P=0.001), differentiation type (OR=1.664, 95% CI: 1.205-2.298, P=0.002), depth of invasion (OR=1.569, 95% CI: 1.212-2.030, P=0.001), vascular invasion (OR=10.514, 95% CI: 6.353-17.401, P=0.000) were the independent risk factors of LNM in early gastric cancer. Conclusions: Age, tumor location, differentiation type, depth of invasion, and vascular invasion are the independent risk factors of LNM in early gastric cancer, especially vascular invasion. For patients with vascular invasion, if there are no contraindications, surgical intervention is recommended.