Objective: To compare the effective difference between preoperative and postoperative use of somatostatin in reducing the degree of pancreatic injury caused by laparoscopic radical gastrectomy. Methods: Fifty patients scheduled to undergo laparoscopic radical gastrectomy were equally randomized into observational group (somatostatin treatment started 12–24 h before operation and continued during and after operation) or control group (somatostatin treatment started after operation), and 22 cases in observational group and 23 cases in control group were finally included due to 5 cases that dropped out of the study before completion. The relevant clinical variables between the two groups were compared. Results: There was no significant difference in general conditions and preoperative infectious and nutritional factors between the two groups (all P>0.05). In observational group compared with control group, the postoperative day-1 drainage volume was significantly lower than that in control group (P=0.05), but the total drainage volume showed no significant difference (P=0.016). No significant difference was noted between the two groups in respects of perioperative serum amylase level, drainage fluid amylase level, postoperative infectious and nutritional factors, time to drainage tube removal, time to gastrointestinal recovery, and incidence of complications (all P>0.05). Conclusion: Preoperative use of somatostatin has no obvious superiority compared with postoperative somatostatin treatment in alleviating pancreatic injury caused by laparoscopic radical gastrectomy.