BACKGROUND Radical lymph node dissection in surgery for advanced gallbladder cancer is controversial. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the role of lymph node dissection based on the clinico-pathologic results. METHODS Seventy-three patients who underwent radical surgery including systematic dissection of the N1+N2 region lymph node plus some of the para-aortic nodes were reviewed. RESULTS pT1 patients had no lymph node metastasis, but pT2 and pT3/pT4 patients had lymph node metastasis at a rate of 50.0% (13/26) and 83.3% (25/30), respectively. As infiltration of the hepatoduodenal ligament (Binf) became severe, the rate and extent of lymph node metastasis increased. There were four 5-year survivors with lymph node involvement. The 5-year survival rates are 77.0% in pN0 cases and 27.3% in pN1 cases (P<0.01). There was no difference in survival between pN1 and pN2 patients. However, significant differences in survival were observed between pN0/1 and pN2/3 patients when these patients were limited to Binf0/1. Examination of the recurrence pattern showed that most patients with pN0/1/2 had no regional lymph node recurrence, but there was para-aortic lymph node recurrence in patients with pN3 outside the dissected region. Significant prognostic factors influencing survival after surgery by multivariate analysis were pN2/3, pT, and residual tumor. CONCLUSIONS Systematic lymph node dissection of N1, N2, and part of the para-aortic region improves survival in advanced gallbladder cancer patients, especially in those without either para-aortic lymph node metastases or Binf2/3.