OBJECTIVE To summarize the experience in diagnosis and surgical treatment of 105 cases with a tumor of the chest wall, and to investigate reconstruction of a large chest-wall defect after resection of a chest wall tumor. METHODS Clinical data from 105 patients with a tumor of the chest wall were retrospectively analyzed. There were 78 males and 27 females with ages ranging from 6 to 70 years. Of the 105 cases, 94 had a primary tumor, among which 75 were benign, 19 malignant and the other 11 metastatic. After a resection of a chest-wall tumor in 19 patients, reconstruction of the large chest-wall defect was conducted.RESULTS All surgical operations were smoothly performed, without an intraoperative death. The results of postoperative follow-up were as follows: 48 patients with a benign tumor were still living and well, 16 patients with a benign tumor died of other diseases, 13 with a malignant tumor survived for a period from 21 months to 8 years, and the others with a malignancy died of local recurrence or distant metastasis. All of the 11 patients with a metastatic tumor died of carcinomatous deseases during a period from 10 to 76 months. CONCLUSION With regard to a primary costal tumor without a pathological diagnosis, a restricted radical excision should be conducted first. Use of suitable repairing materials is very important for reconstruction of a massive chest-wall defect.