Objective To explore the main factors affecting medical expenses of patients with colorectal cancer(CRC)and reduce such expenses by optimizing the clinical pathway of CRC according to the influencing factors.Methods Data of 467 discharged and medical insured CRC patients at Shanghai Cancer Center,Fudan University,were collected from 2009 to 2010.A multiple linear regression model was applied to analyze the influencing factors of medical expenses.The clinical pathway of CRC was optimized,and medical expenses before and after optimization were compared.Results Our data found days of stay and complications had impact on the medical expenses.Also,medical expenses were decreased accordingly with optimization of clinical pathway of CRC.Conclusion This study provides evidence for decision-making on single disease payment and medical insurance compensation on CRC.It is also meaningful to reduce the economic burden of patients with CRC.