The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between surgical procedures and spontaneous urination after rectal cancer surgery. Methods: We reviewed the time of removal of the Foley catheter in 91 patients with middle and lower rectal cancer who had undergone curative surgery, either abdominoperineal resection (APR) or sphincter-preserving operation (SPO), without pelvic lymphadenectomy (PL). We also reviewed the time of catheter removal in 40 rectal cancer patients who had undergone one of four types of autonomic nerve preserving (ANP) operations. Results: The mean time of removal of the catheter was 7.3 postoperative days (POD) in patients who underwent APR and 3.1 POD in patients who underwent SPO (p = 0.01). The mean time of removal in patients who underwent ANP for the entire plexus without PL (type 1a) was 6.7 POD. It was 5.6 POD in ANP for the entire plexus with PL (type 1b), 13.8 POD in ANP for bilateral pelvic plexus with PL (type 2) and 15.8 POD in ANP for unilateral pelvic plexus with PL (type 3). Conclusion: The type of operation and the volume of preserved nerves could be influential factors in the time to removal of the Foley catheter after rectal cancer surgery.