Objective To study and compare the clinical effect of laparoscopic partial nephrectomy and open partial nephrectomy for renal tumor. Methods 60 renal tumor patients underwent partial nephrectomy were selected as the research subjects. They were randomly divided into two groups. 30 cases of the control group received open surgery, 30 patients of the observation group received the implementation of laparoscopic surgery. The postoperative recovery, complication rate, renal function indicators were compared between the two groups. Results The operation time between the two groups had no statistically significant difference[(110.06±28.76)min vs.(108.43±29.64)min, t=0.216, P=0.830]. However, the amount of intraoperative blood loss was significantly less in the observation group[(45.17±16.42)mL vs.(132.46±41.37)mL, t=10.742, P=0.000]. The gastrointestinal function recovery time, hospitalization time of the observation group were significantly shorter than those of the control group[(2.48±1.07)d vs.(4.96±2.39)d, (7.31±4.32)d vs.(12.59±5.18)d, t=5.187, 4.288, P=0.000, 0.000]. The incidence rate of complications of observation group was significantly lower than the control group (3.33% vs.20.00%, χ2=4.043, P=0.044). After operation, the glomerular filtration rate of the two groups had no statistically significant difference compared with pre-operation[(42.18±5.42)mL/min vs (42.93±5.16)mL/min, t=0.549, P=0.585], and after operation, the comparison between the two groups also had no statistically significant difference[(41.34±4.96)mL/min vs.(40.85±5.08)mL/min, t=0.378, P=0.707]. Conclusion The safety of retroperitoneal laparoscopic partial nephrectomy for renal tumor is reliable, the effect on renal function is not obvious, compared with open surgery, laparoscopic surgery can reduce surgical trauma, faster postoperative recovery. Key words: Kidney neoplasms; Nephrectomy; Laparoscopes