After long-term (1–14.5 years) postoperative follow-up observations of 407 cases of portal hypertension, the therapeutic effects of 204 cases which had undergone gastroesophageal devascularization (GEDV) and 203 cases which had undergon eportal systemic shunt (PSS) were compared. The long-term survival rate ot GEDV (89.0%) is higher than that of PSS (61.67%). The incidence of both bleeding and hepatic encephalopathy is much lower in GEDV than in PSS (6.90%, 0%, versus 15.75 %, 12.95% respectively). There is no significant difference in other respects, such as, pre and postoperative changes in varices, liver function, ascites and working capability. The observation also indicates that GEDV has the advantage of broader spectrum on case selection for operation. On the basis of our observation, we prefer GEDV to shunt procedures for patients of Child’s class C or patients with acute massive bleeding.