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Background: This study aimed to analyze and compare the short-term and long-term outcomes of proximal gastrectomy (PG) and total gastrectomy (TG) in patients with locally advanced proximal gastric cancer (GC) following neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT). Method: A multicenter retrospective cohort study and propensity score matching (PSM) were employed. The authors examined 367 patients with proximal GC who received NACT followed by PG (n =164) or TG (n=203) at two Chinese medical institutions between December 2009 and December 2022. Clinical and pathological parameters, postoperative complications, and 5-year overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) were compared between the two groups. The dissection status and metastasis rate of each lymph node station were assessed. Results: After PSM, 80 patients were enrolled in both TG and PG group, and baseline characteristics were comparable between the groups (all P> 0.05). The TG group had a higher total number of lymph nodes retrieved (P<0.001) and longer operative time (P =0.007) compared to the PG group. The incidence of Clavien-Dindo grade II or higher postoperative complications was similar between the TG group (21.3%, 17/80) and the PG group (17.5%, 14/80) (P =0.689). The 5-year OS rates were 68.4 for the PG group and 66.0% for the TG group (P= 0.881), while the 5-year RFS rates were 64.8 and 61.9%, respectively (P= 0.571), with no statistically significant differences. Metastasis rates at lymph node stations #4d, #5, #6, and #12a were notably low in the TG group, with values of 2.74, 0.67, 1.33, and 1.74%, respectively. Conclusion: For proximal GC patients following NACT, PG maintains comparable curative potential and oncological efficacy to TG, making it a safe option. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]