Since the first pulmonary resection for metastatic cancer of the lung in 1939, the following procedure can now be offered to any patient who meets these criteria: 1. a controlled primary tumor, 2. resectable lung lesion, 3. unavailability of a better treatment and 4. a good surgical candidate. From 1982 to 1992, there were 42 patients who underwent an operation for pulmonary metastasis at the Taichung Veterans General Hospital. Their cumulative 3-year and 5-year survival rates were 35% and 25% respectively. The overall estimated median survival time was 23.1 months. The overall operative mortality was 2.4% (1/42). We analyzed the effect of different types of primary tumors, the disease-free interval, and the number of lesions on patient survival. In our series, we concluded that none of the above had an effect on the therapeutic results.