Abstract: Objective: To explore the application of failure mode and effect analysis(FMEA)in the safety management of surgical position placement of patient.Methods: Five hundred and twenty-six cases of radical resection of lung cancer and esophageal carcinoma were selected. Among them,256 cases from June 2015 to February 2016 were set as control group,270 cases from April 2016 to November 2016 as observation group.FMEA was used to identify the frequent failure mode for surgical position placement of patient,analyze the reasons and make the improvement measures in the observation group.The risk priority index (RPN) of the failure mode before and after the operation,the incidence of complications related to the surgical position,the condition of patient satisfaction and management effect were evaluated.Results: After application of FMEA, the RPN value of the failure mode influencing the surgical position was significantly decreased,and the incidence of complications related to surgical position in the observation group was significantly lower than those in the control group(P<0.01).Patient satisfaction was significantly higher than that in the control group(P<0.01).Conclusions: The application of FMEA in the safety management of surgical position placement of patient in operation room contributes to identify and eliminate the potential risks,reduce incidence of complications related to the surgical position,protect the safety of patients effectively.