Purpose: Local excision (LE) is an alternative initial treatment for clinical T1 rectal cancer, and has avoided potential morbidity. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical outcomes of LE compared with total mesorectal excision (TME) for clinical T1 rectal cancer. Methods: Between January 2000 and December 2011, we retrospectively reviewed from multicenter data in patients with clinically suspected T1 rectal cancer treated with either LE or TME. Of 1,071 patients, 106 were treated with LE and 965 were treated with TME. The data were analyzed using propensity score matching, with each group comprising 91 patients. Results: After propensity score matching, the median follow-up time was 60.8 months (range, 0.6–150.6 months). After adjustment for the necessary variables, patients who underwent LE showed a significantly higher local recurrence rate than did those who underwent TME; however, there were no differences in disease-free survival and overall survival. In the multivariate analysis, age (hazard ratio [HR], 9.620; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.415–27.098; P<0.001) and angiolymphatic invasion (HR, 3.63; 95% confidence interval, 1.33–9.89; P=0.012) were independently associated with overall survival. However, LE was neither associated with overall survival nor disease-free survival. Conclusion LE for clinical T1 rectal cancer yielded a higher local recurrence rate than did TME. Nevertheless, LE provided comparable overall survival rate and can be proposed as an optional treatment in terms of organ-preserving strategies.