ObjectiveTo compare the cost and efficacy of ambulatory versus hospitalized surgery for lung tumor patients. MethodsTwo researchers independently conducted a computer search on February 14, 2025, in databases including CNKI, PubMed, Web of Science, Ovid Medline, Cochrane Library, and Wanfang Database, with the search period covering from the inception of these databases to February 2025. The outcome indicators were postoperative complication rate, length of hospital stay, hospitalization costs, et al. For the included randomized controlled trials and non-randomized controlled trials, we used the Cochrane risk of bias assessment tool and the Newcastle Ottawa Scale (NOS) respectively to evaluate the quality of the literature, and extracted data from the included studies for meta-analysis using RevMan 5.4 and Stata 18.0. ResultsA total of 12 researches were ultimately included, consisting of 2 randomized controlled trials, 2 prospective cohort studies, and 8 retrospective cohort studies, involving a total of 76 403 patients. All researches were evaluated as high-quality. Meta-analysis showed that the ambulatory surgery group had advantages over the hospitalized surgery group in terms of operation time [MD=?21.07, 95%CI (?30.55, ?11.58), P<0.001], length of hospital stay [MD=?2.17, 95%CI (?3.25, ?1.09), P<0.001], hospitalization costs [SMD=?1.22, 95%CI (?2.18, ?0.26), P=0.01], and overall postoperative complications [OR=0.48, 95%CI (0.32, 0.74), P<0.001]. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of postoperative hoarseness [OR=0.62, 95%CI (0.24, 1.61), P=0.33] and postoperative chylothorax [OR=0.27, 95%CI (0.07, 1.07), P=0.06]. ConclusionCompared to conventional hospitalized lung tumor resection, ambulatory lung tumor resection can significantly reduce the patient’s surgery and hospital stay time, decrease hospitalization costs, and reduce the incidence of postoperative complications. Ambulatory surgery can improve hospital efficiency while reducing the economic burden on patients. It is worthy of further promotion and application.