We aimed to assess the therapeutic effects of single-port thoracoscopic anatomical segmentectomy on early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Sixty patients with early-stage NSCLC admitted from December 2022 to July 2023 were selected and divided into a lobectomy group (n = 30) and a segmentectomy group (n = 30) according to the different procedures. Their perioperative indicators, pre-operative and post-operative pulmonary function indicators, pain degree 24 h, 48 h, 72 h and 7 day after operation, the incidence of post-operative complications and recurrence, survival and mortality rates 1 year after operation were compared. The segmentectomy group had significantly smaller intraoperative blood loss, shorter length of drainage and length of hospital stay and longer operation time than those of the lobectomy group (P < 0.05). The pulmonary function decreased significantly in both groups 1 week, 1 month and 3 months after operation. Compared with the lobectomy group, the forced expiratory volume in 1 s per cent, forced-vital capacity per cent and maximal voluntary ventilation of the segmentectomy group significantly increased at each time point after operation (P < 0.05). The Visual Analogue Scale scores 24 h, 48 h, 72 h and 7 days after operation were significantly lower in the segmentectomy group than those in the lobectomy group (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences in the incidence of post-operative complications and recurrence, survival and mortality rates 1 year after operation between the two groups (P > 0.05). Single-port thoracoscopic anatomical segmentectomy has obvious therapeutic effects on early-stage NSCLC, characterised by smaller surgical trauma, milder post-operative pain and less impact on pulmonary function.