Our purpose was to summarize information from a large single institution's experience regarding the role of surgical resection in the management of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in children and adolescents. Fifty-eight children were treated for primary gastrointestinal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The tumors usually presented in the ileocolic region (n = 54). Twenty-one children presented with intussusception. Complete surgical resection of tumor was accomplished in 32 patients, partial resection in 20, and biopsy only in 6. All patients were given lymphoma protocols employing chemotherapy and irradiation. Forty-four (76%) of 58 patients are surviving from 1 year to greater than 20 years from diagnosis. Thirty-one of 32 patients who underwent complete resection followed by protocol management are surviving, compared with 13 of 26 children with residual gross disease. The results indicate that children with primary gastrointestinal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma benefit from complete surgical resection when feasible.