Objective To explore the new method to achieve higher turnover rate of wards and less medical cost for treatment of lung caner, in order to accommodate with the limited medical resources. Methods Analysis of medical cost, time of hospitalization and prevalences of chemotherapy-related adverse effects were performed in 249 patients with ambulatory chemotherapy (ambulatory chemotherapy group) during January 2009 to April 2009 in Lung Tumor Clinical Medical Center, Shanghai Chest hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University, and 827 patients with routine chemotherapy during the same period were served as control group. Results The mean time of hospitalization and total medical cost of ambulatory chemotherapy group were significantly lower than those of control group (4.30 d vs 13.7 d and 6 751.87 yuan vs 14 198.03 yuan, P<0.01 for both). The chemotherapy-related adverse effects were similar in both groups, with the prevalence of leukopenia being higher and that of vomiting being lower in ambulatory chemotherapy group (P<0.01 for both). Conclusion Ambulatory chemotherapy can reduce the time of hospitalization and medical cost, and is recommended as the new model for treatment of lung cancer.