Objective: To investigate influential factors for early diagnosis, estimation of resectability and prognosis of pancreatic cancer. Methods: The clinical data of 185 patients with pancreatic cancer admitted from March 2011 to March 2014 were reviewed. The efficiencies of various imaging examinations in estimation of resectability were evaluated by comparing the surgical results, and the prognostic factors were also analyzed. Results: Of the entire group of patients, 103 cases were male and 82 were female with an average age of (58.87±10.59) years; the main clinical symptoms were abdominal pain, abdominal distention and jaundice; 74 cases underwent surgical treatment and 111 cases did not. B-ultrasound and CT were the main preoperative imaging methods of examination, and the area under ROC curve (95% CI) of B-ultrasound, CT, MRI and PET/CT for estimation of resectability was 0.524 (0.343–0.705), 0.727 (0.604–0.850), 0.571 (0.000–1.000) and 0.500 (0.010–0.990), respectively. Follow-up data were obtained in 90 patients, and the 1-, 2- and 3-year survival rate was 29%, 16% and 8%, respectively. Univariate analysis suggested that liver metastasis, TNM stage and treatment approach were influential factors for prognosis (all P<0.05). Conclusion: The prognosis of pancreatic cancer is extremely poor, and its estimation of resectability can depend on the CT-based imaging examinations, and liver metastasis, TNM stage and the therapeutic approach are important prognostic factors. Early diagnosis and treatment are important for improving the survival time and prognosis of the patients.