To explore the association between visceral obesity and short-term postoperative complications in patients with advanced ovarian cancer undergoing cytoreductive surgery. The medical records of patients with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer were reviewed. The visceral fat area, subcutaneous fat area and total fat area at the L3/4 level were measured on a preoperative single-slice CT scan. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to calculate the optimal cutoff value for the visceral fat area. The relationship between the visceral fat area and the characteristics of ovarian cancer patients were analyzed. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to investigate relationship between perioperative characteristics and short-term complications. According to the ROC curve, the best cutoff value of the VFA was 93 cm Visceral obesity is an important risk factor for short-term postoperative complications in patients with advanced ovarian cancer undergoing cytoreductive surgery.