Background: Lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma (LELC) is rare in the thymus, which is easy to be misdiagnosed. To improve its clinicopathological knowledge, we describe two cases of thymic LELC, and investigate their clinicopathological features (microscopical and immunohistochemical features), treatment and follow-up data with a review of previously published cases. Case presentation: Two patients in the First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University underwent complete surgical resection

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... or thymic LELC. In both, they were treated with chemotherapy or radiotherapy after operation. Histologically, tumor cells were arranged in nest-like patterns or stripe-shaped infiltration in collagen fibrous interstitial tissue containing lymphocytes. And the tumor cells were diffusely positive for broad spectrum pan-cytokeratin (CK), CK19, CD5, CD117, epithelial membrane antigen (EMA) and p63, focally positive for CD20, and negative for TdT. Recent clinical reexamine showed that the two patients were alive with no signs of recurrence.Conclusion: We report two cases of thymic LELC with a review of previously published cases to summarize the knowledge of their clinicopathological characteristics, which is necessary for the accurate diagnosis and clinical treatment.