〔Abstract〕 Objective To explore the clinical application effect of indocyanine green (ICG) fluorescence imaging technology in laparoscopic radical surgery for rectal cancer. Methods Sixty patients with rectal cancer admitted to Shunde Hospital of Southern Medical University from January 2020 to December 2022 were selected as the study subjects. According to use of ICG fluorescence laparoscopic imaging technology, the patients were divided into ICG group (27 cases) and non-ICG group (33 cases). The ICG group underwent laparoscopic radical surgery for rectal cancer with ICG fluorescence imaging technology, while the nonICG group underwent traditional laparoscopic radical surgery for rectal cancer. The surgical conditions, postoperative recovery, incidence of postoperative complications, and intraoperative lymph node dissection were compared between the two groups. Results There was no significant difference in the surgical procedures between the two groups (P > 0.05). All patients had no intraoperative injuries or simultaneous organ resection. There was no significant difference in the surgical duration and intraoperative blood loss between the two groups (P > 0.05). There was no significant difference in postoperative recovery between the two groups (P > 0.05). The incidence of postoperative complications was not significantly different between the two groups (P > 0.05). The number of lymph nodes with a diameter of < 5 mm and the total number of lymph nodes harvested in the ICG group were higher than those in the non-ICG group, and the differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05). Conclusion ICG fluorescence imaging technology can harvest more lymph nodes in laparoscopic radical surgery for rectal cancer without affecting the postoperative recovery of patients. It is clinically safe, feasible, and has certain application value.