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Objective To investigate the clinicopathological features and survival rate of oral squamous cell carcinoma patients in China. Methods The clinicopathological characteristics, stage, treatment modality, and 5-year disease-specific survival (DSS) rate of 1 915 OCSCC patients who received initial treatment at the Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center from 1990 to 2013 were collected and analyzed. The clinicopathological characteristics, stage, treatment modality, and 5-year disease-specific survival (DSS) rate of OCSCC patients treated during the successive decades of 1990-1999, 2000-2009, and 2010-2013 were analyzed retrospectively to show the trends over time. Results The average age of all OCSCC patients who received initial treatment at this cancer center from 1990 to 2013 was 54.8 years (SD, 12.6 years). The sex ratio was approximately 2:1. The oral tongue was the site most prone for OCSCC, accounting for 63.6% of all cases. The proportions of early-stage (Ⅰ-Ⅱ) and advanced-stage (Ⅲ-Ⅳ) cases were approximate. Regarding the treatment modality, surgery-based treatment accounted for 80.4%. Survival analysis showed that the 5-year DSS rate of all cases was 57%. Survival decreased with age. The survival of females, nonsmokers, and nondrinkers was higher than that of males, smokers, and drinkers. The 5-year DSS rates of patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the lips, oral tongue, and other sites of the oral cavity were 81%, 63%, and 42%, respectively. The 5-year DSS rates of patients who received surgery-based treatment and nonsurgical treatment were 66% and 19%, respectively. The analysis of trends over time showed that in the period of 1990-1999 and 2010-2013, the age and sex ratio were relatively stable. The proportion of patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the lips and oral tongue gradually decreased, while the proportion of those with squamous cell carcinoma of the other sites of the oral cavity gradually increased. The proportion of surgery-based treatment increased from 77.7% to 91.3%. The 5-year DSS rate gradually increased from 53% in 1990-1999 to 64% in 2010-2013. The 5-year DSS rate of female patients increased significantly from 55% to 78%. However, the 5-year DSS rate of male patients was relatively stable. The 5-year DSS rate of patients who received surgery-based treatment gradually increased from 62% to 69%. Conclusion The 5-year DSS rate has steadily improved for OCSCC patients at this cancer center from 1990-2013, especially in female patients. The 5-year DSS rate of patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the oral tongue has reached the rate in developed countries worldwide. The proportion and survival rate of patients who received surgery-based treatment gradually increased. The survival rate of patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the other sites of the oral cavity was significantly lower than that of patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the lips and oral tongue, suggesting that more effort should be put into the treatment of patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the other sites of the oral cavity to improve the survival rate in the future.