Millions of patients benefit from surgery and are exposed to surgical stress. However, ample studies suggest that surgical stress contributes to tumor recurrence or distant metastases. Surgical stress suppresses CD8+ T cells (CTL) function which is vital for eliminating the malignant cells. Anti-programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) therapy is an effective and safe treatment that increases survival rate of patients with multiple cancers, however, whether anti-PD-1 therapy is able to reverse the immunosuppression following surgery remains largely unknown. Using a surgical stress mice model, we found that surgical stress reduced CD8+ T cell total numbers in the spleen and impaired CTLs function. Surgical induced CD8+ T cells had impaired anti-tumor effects in a tumor bearing models. Blockade of PD-1 with specific antibody restored CD8+ T cell numbers and secretion ability. PGE2 expression was dramatically upregulated in the postoperative serum, and anti-PD-1 together with PGE2 inhibitor restored CTLs dysfunction induced by surgery. Collectively, blockade of PD-1 with monoclonal antibody may be an effective treatment during the postoperative period for restoring surgery-induced immunosuppression.