Objective: To investigate the safety and effectiveness of laparoscopic-assisted resection of colorectal cancer in elderly patients (≥70 years of age). Methods: According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 120 elderly patients with colorectal cancer admitted between January 2012 and January 2015 were prospectively enrolled, and randomly designated to laparoscopic group and laparotomy group with 60 cases in each group, undergoing laparoscopic-assisted or open resection of colorectal cancer, respectively. The main clinical variables between the two groups of patients were compared. Results: In laparoscopic group compared with laparotomy group, the operative time (118.23 min vs. 120.85 min, P=0.458) and number of resected lymph nodes (18.12 vs. 17.37, P=0.218) showed no significant difference, but the intraoperative blood loss (307.28 mL vs. 354.80 mL, P=0.000), time to first postoperative flatus (38.27 h vs. 47.02 h, P=0.000) and length of hospital stay (16.58 d vs. 20.07 d, P=0.000) were all significantly reduced. No statistical difference was noted in incidence of postoperative complications that included intestinal fistula, subcutaneous infection, anastomotic fistula, intestinal obstruction, urinary tract infection and lung infection (all P>0.05). The recurrence rate (35.0% vs. 41.7%, P=0.453) and mortality rate (13.3% vs. 18.3%, P=0.453) at postoperative 24 months had no statistical difference between the two groups. Conclusion: Performance of laparoscopic-assisted resection of colorectal cancer in elderly patients is safe and effective, and it is recommended to be used.