Objective To explore the application and effect of case management model in patients with lung cancer. Methods Totally 88 patients with lung cancer were divided into the experimental group and the control group according the wards. The patients in the experimental group received a six-month case management program, while the patients in the control group received routine nursing and follow-up. The quality of life of patients was evaluated at the first day of admission after diagnosis, one month, three months and six months after the treatment. The changes of several indexes in half a year during the study were analyzed by repeated-measure analysis of variance and multiple factor analysis of variance. Results In the experimental group, the scores of the patients in physical functioning, role functioning and global health status were higher than that in the control group after six-month′s nursing care (F=19.449, 13.291, 4.929; P<0.05); the scores of patients in the experimental group in appetite loss, fatigue, dyspnea and pain were lower than that in the control group (F=5.032, 5.152, 4.287, 10.734; P<0.05). Conclusions The case management model can improve the quality of life of lung cancer patients, and it should be applied to the lung cancer patients with condition. Key words: Lung cancer; Case management model; Quality of life