Objective  To explore the pathological changes of recurrent gliomas and the clinical value of operation. Methods  A total of 13 patients with recurrent brain gliomas who underwent surgical treatment at the Department of Neurosurgery of Renji Hospital of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine between January 2004 and January 2014 were retrospectively analyzed. The pathological changes of different grades of recurrent gliomas and the prognosis were compared. Results  Among all patients, 7 of them (53.8%) pathologically upgraded, 5 of them (38.5%) remained the same, and one patient (7.7%) pathologically degraded. The median survival time of patients was 28 months (2-63 months), 1 year survival rate was 52%, and 2 year survival rate was 42%. Univariate analysis showed that the pathological level of recurrent gliomas, time between two operations＞12 months, expressions of phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome ten (PTEN) of patients with primary gliomas, and expressions of p53 and Ki-67 of patients with recurrent gliomas were closely correlated with the overall survival time of patients (P<0.05). Multivariate analysis suggested that the pathological level of recurrent gliomas was the independent prognostic factor for the survival of patients (P=0.031). Conclusion  Most patients with recurrent gliomas pathologically upgrade and operation is helpful for the survival of patients.