Objective To analyze the effect of the thoracic drainage tube with different depth after lower lobectomy by video-assisted thoracic.Methods Ninty patients with lower lobe lung cancer in our department from June 2022 to December 2023 were selected as subjects and were performed single operator-hole thoracoscopic lower lobectomy plus lymph node dissection.A single 28 silicone drainage tube was indwelled through the observation hole.The patients were divided into two groups randomly according hospitalization information,45 cases in each group.The depth of thoracic drainage tube in the observation group was 5~6 cm,and 10~14 cm in the control group.The volume of drainage,drainage time,hospital stay,incidence of atelectasis and pleural effusion,pain score in the first three days were compared between the two groups.Results There were no significant differences in the volume of drainage[(707±137)ml vs(764±159)ml,t=-1.793,P=0.076],drainage time[(4.0±0.8)d v.s(4.2±0.8),t=-1.619,P=0.109],hospital stay[8.8±1.1)d vs(9.0±1.3)d,t=-0.704,P=0.483),incidence of atelectasis(3/45 vs 5/45,x2=0.549,P=0.357)and pleural effusion(6/45 vs 4/45,x2=0.450,P=0.370)between the two groups(P>0.05).The VAS scores of the observation group were significantly lower than those of the control group in the first three days after surgery,[day1:(6.6±1.1)vs(7.9±1.1),t=-5.648,P<0.001;day2:(5.2±0.8)vs(6.2±0.7),t=-5.606,P<0.001;day3:(3.9±0.9)vs(4.7±0.7),t=-4.428,P<0.001].Conclusion Shorter drainage tube placement through the observation hole can reduce the degree of chest pain after the single operator-hole thoracoscopic lobectomy for lower lobe lung cancer and the effect will not be affected.