9 Background: In type 4 or large type 3 gastric cancer diagnosed as not having distant metastasis by imaging modalities, the incidence of peritoneal metastasis that was unexpectedly found during laparotomy was approximately 40%. Staging laparoscopy (SL) is a valuable method used for staging gastric cancer. This study aimed to clarify the effectiveness and limitations of SL for patients (pts) with type 4 or large type 3 gastric cancer. Methods: JCOG0501 is a randomized phase III trial of gastrectomy with or without neoadjuvant S-1 plus cisplatin for treating type 4 or large type 3 gastric cancer. Eligibility criteria included histologically proven gastric adenocarcinoma that was clinically type 4 or large type 3 gastric cancer and was diagnosed as R0/1-resectable using SL. Pts who underwent gastrectomy without neoadjuvant chemotherapy were included in this study. Results: In total, 316 pts (158 pts with and without neoadjuvant chemotherapy each) were enrolled between October 2005 and July 2013 from 44 institutions. Of the 158 pts without neoadjuvant therapy, 2 pts did not receive laparotomy. The remaining 156 pts were included in this analysis. Among them, except for 1 patient (P1), none were diagnosed with peritoneal metastases (P0) during SL. Among these 155 pts, 24 (15.5%) were diagnosed with peritoneal metastases at subsequent laparotomies (false-negative). Most of the overlooked peritoneal disseminated nodules were located in the intestinal mesentery (8 pts), transverse mesocolon (5 pts), or omental bursa (3 pts). The total number of peritoneal disseminated nodules at laparotomy was often ≤ 9 (1–3 nodules in 14 pts, 4–9 in 4 pts). Of the 156 included pts, 142 underwent R0/1-resection (91.0%) because some overlooked nodules were curatively resected. Conclusions: SL is a useful diagnostic tool to plan the management of type 4 and large type 3 gastric cancers, although the high false-negative rate cannot be ignored. In SL, detailed exploration of the mesentery, mesocolon, and omental bursa is recommended.