Objective To understand the health education needs of lung cancer surgical patients and to provide reference for targeted intervention.Methods Using phenomenological research method, semi-structured one-to-one interviews were conducted with 12 lung cancer surgical patients.The Colaizzi′s seven-step analysis method was employed to analyze the data and extract themes.Results Five themes were extracted:the need for disease related knowledge, the need for surgery-related information, the need for coping with discomfort, the need for home rehabilitation guidance, and the need for multiple sources to access health knowledge.Conclusion Lung cancer surgical patients have diversified health education needs.Medical staff should pay attention to assessment and implement targeted intervention based on the assessment results to maximize the effect of health education.