Background: Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is now accepted as an alternative to surgery for the treatment of early gastric cancer (EGC). However, long-term clinical outcome of ESD for EGC compared to surgical resection has not been evaluated. The aim of this study is to evaluate the clinical outcome of ESD for EGC compared to surgical resection. Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed in 152 patients who underwent ESD or surgical resection for EGC according to Gotoda’s extended criteria from 2006 and 2008 in Incheon St. Mary’s Hospital and Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea. Overall survival and recurrence rates were compared between the two groups. Results: A total of 56 patients underwent surgical gastrectomy and 96 patients underwent ESD. The medial follow-up was 76 months in surgical resection group and 71 months in ESD group. Metachronous recurrences including dysplasia were found in 9 patients in ESD group and none in surgical resection group (P=0.001). There was no significant difference between the groups in overall survival. Conclusions: Gotoda’s extended criteria for ESD might be acceptable for the treatment of EGC considering the oval survival. However, meticulous surveillance program should be established because metachronous recurrence is more common after ESD.