Background Pancreatic metastases from renal cell carcinoma are uncommon. Methods Retrospective study of 8 patients with a diagnosis of pancreatic metastasis from renal cell carcinoma observed in our Institute. Results Patients were 6 (75%) males and 2 (25%) females. Mean age was 65.3 years. In 5 patients (57.1%), symptoms were present. The median interval of onset from nephrectomy was 10 years. No cases of synchronous pancreatic metastases were observed. Surgical resection was performed in 7 (87.5%) patients. At pathological examination, solitary metastases were identified in 5 patients (71.4%). No post-operative mortality was observed; the morbidity rate was 42.8%. In the group of patients who underwent pancreatic resection, median overall survival was 43.0 months (range 12.9–74.5), median disease-free survival was 23.6 months (range 9.9–74.5). Conclusions Pancreatic metastasis from renal cell carcinoma typically occurs after a long period from the initial nephrectomy, and seems to be related to a good prognosis.