Objective: To observe the relationship between cervical curvature and the distance of cervical cord shift after posterior limited laminectomy and its effect on surgical outcome. Methods: From January 2016 to December 2017, 87 patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy were treated with limited laminectomy in our hospital, and 74 of them received complete clinical follow-up. Patients were divided into 2 groups according to the cervical curvature. Group A, the cervical curvature decreased (0^o≤cervical vertebra angle≤16.5^o) and group B, the cervical curvature was normal (cervical vertebra angle >16.5^o). The neurological improvement, spinal cord drift distance, range of motion (ROM), axial symptoms and C5 paralysis were observed and analyzed. Results: In an average follow-up of 23.8 months, 36 cases in group A and the cervical vertebra angle was 9.7^o±5.3^o;38 cases in group B and the cervical vertebra angle was 18.7^o±4.6^o (P<0.05). The laminectomy width in group A was (18.5±2.1) mm, and in group B was (17.9±1.8) mm (P>0.05). The spinal cord drift distance was (1.8±0.5) mm in group A and (2.6 ± 0.8) mm in group B, which was statistically significant (P<0.05). The ROM in the 2 groups was not significantly decreased when compared with the pre-operative level (P>0.05), and the JOA scores were significantly increased than those before surgery (P<0.05). The axial symptoms based on VAS score in group A was significantly higher than that in group B (P<0.05). There were 3 cases (8.3%) of C5 palsy in group A and 4 cases (10.5%) of C5 palsy in group B (P>0.05). Conclusions: Nearly half of the patients had cervical curvature loss after limited laminectomy. The reduction of cervical curvature reduces the spinal cord drift distance and increases the severity of axial symptoms. The cervical curvature had no relationship with neurological recovery and C5 palsy.