Background and purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the necessity of central compartment neck dissection in laryngeal cancer.Study Design: Retrospective study at a tertiary referral medical center. Methods:Patients with laryngeal squamous cell cancer who underwent neck dissection were evaluated, and a retrospective analysis of clinicopathologic factors and follow-up data were performed. Results: One hundred and eighteen patients from 1999 to 2009 were enrolled. There were 11.9% central compartment lymph node metastasis in all patients, including the 10 patients with central compartment lymph node metastasis in 34 patients underwent compartment neck dissection and 4 patients do not underwent compartment neck dissection but had central neck recurrence in the follow up time. Subglottic or pyriform extension were risk factors in central compartment lymph node metastasis and central neck recurrence (P=0.002). Central compartment lymph node metastasis had closed relationship with levelⅣmetastasis (P<0.001), extracapsular extension (P=0.001), vascular extension (P=0.015) and poor local control rates (P=0.035) respectively. Patients who were positive for lateral neck lymph node metastasis had poor disease-free survival rate (P=0.014) and poor local control rates (P=0.025), and supraglottic cancer had a trend to metastases to levelⅡ(P=0.044). Conclusion:Central compartment neck dissection might be considered a potential therapeutic approach for patients with laryngeal cancer.