Abstract: Objective: To evaluate the clinical effect of tension-free mesh-plug hernia repair(mesh plug) on the aged patients with inguinal hernia.Methods: Eighty aged patients with inguinal hernia who were admitted in our hospital from Oct.1996 to Oct.2006 were reviewed retrospectively.Forty cases received traditional operation(control group) and 40 cases were performed mesh plug hernia repair(treated group).The surgery duration,hospital stay,time to start out-of-bed exercises,complications and recurrence rates were compared between the two groups.Results: Compared with the traditional operation,the mesh plug hernia repair had the advantages of shorter surgery duration(P<0.01),shorter hospital stay(P<0.01) and fewer complications(P<0.05),and patients were able to start out-of-bed exercises earlier(P<0.01).Conclusions: The mesh plug hernia repair is the first choice for treatment of inguinal hernia in the aged patients,and is worth populariting in hospitals of all grades.