Objective:To investigate the significance of changes of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) in neoadjuvant therapy for rectal cancer.Methods:The data of 86 patients with rectal cancer who received neoadjuvant therapy from November 2013 to January 2015 in Shanxi Provincial Cancer Hospital were retrospectively analyzed, and the correlations of NLR and PLR changes with the patients' clinicopathological characteristics and therapeutic effects were also analyzed.Results:There were 43 cases of increased NLR and 43 cases of increased PLR after treatment. NLR and PLR changes before and after neoadjuvant therapy in patients with rectal cancer were not associated with age, gender, TNM stage, lymph node metastasis, number of cancer nodules, and tumor diameter (all P > 0.05). The increasing proportion of NLR and PLR after treatment in patients with the distance from the tumor to anus < 6 cm was higher than that in those with the distance≥6 cm [60.00% (30/50) vs. 36. 11% (13/36), χ2 = 4.778, P = 0.029; 64.00% (32/50) vs. 30.56% (11/36), χ2 = 9.364, P = 0.002]. The increasing proportion of NLR and PLR after treatment in patients with the body mass index (BMI) ≥28 kg/m 2 was higher than that in those with BMI < 28 kg/m 2 [81.82% (9/11) vs. 45.33% (34/75), χ2 = 5.108, P = 0.024; 90.91% (10/11) vs. 44.00% (33/75), χ2 = 8.444, P = 0.004]. The remission rate of patients in NLR reduction group after treatment was higher than that in NLR increase group [72.09% (31/43) vs. 51.16% (31/43), χ2 = 3.983, P = 0.046]. PLR changes were not associated with the therapeutic effects of neoadjuvant therapy before and after treatment ( P > 0.05). Conclusion:NLR changes are associated with therapeutic efficacy before and after neoadjuvant therapy for patients with rectal cancer.