Objective: To investigate the optimal site for intraoperative gastrointestinal decompression (GID). Methods: In this prospective study, 62 gastric cancer patients who underwent surgery at Xuzhou Central Hospital from January 2022 to May 2023 were randomly assigned to either a control or experimental group (31 patients/group). For patients in the control group, the conventional method was used for measurement of the gastric tube length, and GID was placed near the cardia. For patients in the experimental group, the gastric tube length was measured using conventional method with an additional 5–10 cm, and GID was placed near the gastric body. Intraoperative gastric tube placement, intraoperative tube adjustments, gastric contents, GID effectiveness, postoperative gastric fluid drainage volume, and gastrointestinal peristalsis recovery were compared between the two groups. Results: Intraoperative gastric tube adjustment (x2=24.952, p<0.001) and volume of gastric fluid drainage (x2=-14.376, p<0.001) significantly affects GID effectiveness. There were notable differences in GID effectiveness between the two groups (x2=-4.353, p<0.001). GID near the gastric body reduced postoperative complications (nausea/vomiting: x2=5.905, p=0.015; aspiration: x2=4.292, p=0.038) and improved gastrointestinal peristalsis recovery (x2=3.085, p=0.032). Conclusion: GID near the gastric body is safe and effective.