Objective To observe the clinical effect of laparoscopic radical resection on colorectal cancer (CRC). Methods Retrospective analysis of 60 CRC patients admitted from January 2018 to March 2021 were divided into a control group and an observation group according to different surgical treatment methods, with 30 cases in each group. The control group was treated with open surgery, while the observation group was treated with laparoscopic radical resection. The operation indicators, postoperative recovery indicators, inflammatory factors, gastrointestinal hormone levels, postoperative complications, and one-year survival rate were observed and compared between the two groups. Results There were no significant differences in operation time and number of lymph nodes dissected between the two groups (P>0.05). The intraoperative blood loss volume and incision length of the observation group were less and shorter than those of the control group (P<0.01). The duration of postoperative abdominal distension, anal exhaust time, first feeding time, and hospital stay in the observation group were significantly shorter than those in the control group (P<0.01). There were no significant differences in serum inflammatory factors between the two groups before operation (P>0.05), but the levels of IL-6, IL-8, IL-10 and C-reactive protein (CRP) at postoperative 1, 3 and 7 days in the observation group were significantly better than those in the control group (P<0.01). There were no significant differences in the levels of serum motilin and gastrin between the two groups before operation (P>0.05), but the levels of motilin and gastrin in the observation group were significantly higher than those in the control group after operation (P<0.01). The frequency of postoperative complications in the observation group was significantly lower than that in the control group (P<0.05). After one year of follow-up, the survival rate was 80.0% (24/30) in the observation group and 76.67% (23/30) in the control group, and there was no significant difference between the two groups (P>0.05). Conclusion Compared with traditional open surgery, laparoscopic radical resection has a milder impact on gastrointestinal function, less injury and inflammation, fewer postoperative complications, and faster recovery in CRC patients under the premise of ensuring the surgical treatment effect, which has a high promotion value.