Concurrent chemoradiotherapy (cCRT) is the standard of care for International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage IIB squamous cervical carcinoma (SCC). However, an increasing number of young patients with stage IIB SCC are concerned with preserving their ovarian and vaginal functions during treatment. This retrospective study aimed to compare clinical prognosis between young patients with stage IIB SCC treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) followed by radical surgery (RS) and those treated with cCRT. Medical records of 244 premenopausal patients aged <45 years with FIGO stage IIB SCC treated with NACT+RS and cCRT between February 2007 and June 2009 were reviewed. All these patients completed the treatment plan. NACT+RS resulted in recurrence (35.9 versus 41.8 %, P = 0.350), progression-free survival (PFS) rate (log-rank, P = 0.456), and overall survival (OS) rate (log-rank, P = 0.637) comparable to cCRT. Compared with cCRT, NACT+RS did not show a significant statistical difference in clinical prognosis of premenopausal patients with stage IIB SCC. Therefore, NACT+RS may be considered as an alternative treatment for the young patients who are concerned with preserving endocrine function, and this alternative treatment may also be administered when radiotherapy is unavailable.