Abstract: Objective: To describe bowel symptoms in mid and low rectal cancer patients after sphincter-preserving surgery (SPS) and analyze the relationship between their bowel dysfunction and quality of life. Methods: A total of 199 patients were recruited and respondents were investigated by Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) Bowel Function Instrument, EORTC QLQ-C30, demographic and disease/treatment questionnaires. Results: The mean score of the MSKCC Bowel Function Instrument among participants is 63.14±10.79. The mean score of QLQ-C30 is 68.74±22.37. MSKCC Bowel Function Instrument scores and QLQ-C30 scores were positively correlated (r=0.339, P<0.01). Conclusions: Patients with mid and low rectal cancer will experience multiple bowel symptoms after SPS. And the quality of life of patients is closely associated with the severity of the bowel dysfunction. Therefore, health care providers should help their patients to cope with bowel symptoms in order to improve their quality of life.