Prognosis following recurrence subsequent to complete resection of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is considered a multifactorial process dependent on clinicopathological, biological and treatment characteristics. Gefitinib was approved for lung cancer treatment in Japan in 2002. The aim of the current study was to quantify the prognostic effects of these characteristics on post-recurrence prognosis. In total, 127 NSCLC patients were analyzed who underwent complete resection and subsequently had recurrent cancer. The correlation between characteristics of the initial and recurrent disease with post-recurrence prognosis was investigated. The factors clearly associated with post-recurrence prognosis using Cox proportional hazards models were age at recurrence (those <65 years of age typically had better prognoses) and interval between initial resection and recurrence (intervals of <1 year accompanied a worse prognosis). Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutant patients treated with EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), exhibited the longest median survival following recurrence (37.4 months) in the sample. Treatment, particularly EGFR TKIs for recurrent NSCLC, was observed to significantly prolong survival. The results of the study highlight that various treatment modalities according to the clinical background of the patient should be considered in patients with postoperative recurrent NSCLC.