It is difficult to select and combine the nutritional parameters most useful in predicting the outcome of major gastrointestinal surgery. The aim of this study was to define retrospectively a multifactorial prognostic nutritional index adapted to this purpose. Seventy-eight patients on whom one or more total or partial visceral resection were performed in nonemergency conditions were included in this study. Statistical analysis was carried out to determine correlations between the preoperative nutritional parameters and the postoperative complications such as: a) wound rupture and anastomotic leakage; b) severe sepsis; c) death. Delayed hypersensitivity, assessed as normal or abnormal, together with plasmatic albumin and transferrin levels, the thresholds of which were respectively determined at 35 g/l and 2.2 g/l, were selected as the factors with the greatest predictive value. For the prognosis of postoperative severe complications and death, the sensitivity and specificity of an index using the association of these three parameters were respectively 82.7 p. 100 and 51 p. 100 with positive and negative predictive values of 50 p. 100 and 83.3 p. 100.