Objective To investigate the clinical characteristics, treatment and prognosis of multiple primary carcinoma (MPC). Methods Forty-six patients with MPC from Beijing Shijingshan Hospital and Beijing Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine were enrolled in the study. The onset age, tumor locations, interval time between primary and second cancer, and survival time were analyzed. Results Among the 46 patients, 5 were synchronous and the other 41 were metachronous multiple primary carcinomas. The median ages at onset were 69 and 77 years respectively for the primary and second cancer. The most commom tumor location was gastrointestinal tract. The median survival time was 240 and 84 months respectively for the patients with the interval time over 5 years and those less than 5 years (P=0.005). The 5-year survival was 76.1%for the patients undergoing surgery for primary cancer, and was 21.7% for those for second cancer. The median survival time was 60 and 48 months respectively for the surgery group and non-surgery group for the second cancer (P=0.032). Conclusions Radical surgery prolongs the survival time for MPC patients. The longer the interval time between the primary and second tumors is, the longer survival time is. Active therapy should be given to the MPC patients. Surgical resection should be performed as long as the tumor and the patient’s condition allows.