T-cell lymphoma (TCL) is resistant to conventional chemotherapy. We retrospectively evaluated the therapeutic efficiency and toxicity of gemcitabine, navelbine, and doxorubicin (GND) in patients with refractory or relapsed TCL. From 2002 to 2012, 69 patients with refractory or relapsed TCL received GND treatment in our hospital. The treatment protocol comprised gemcitabine (800 mg/m2, group 1; 1000 mg/m2, group 2) on days 1 and 8, navelbine (25 mg/m2) on day 1, and doxorubicin (20 mg/m2) on day 1, repeated every 3 weeks. The overall response rate (ORR) was 65.2%. The median overall survival (OS) was 36 months. The 5-year estimated OS rate was 32.4%. The GND regimen was well tolerated. Subgroup analysis demonstrated that the ORR and CR for group 1 were similar. A longer median OS was observed for group 1. Significant difference in grades 3-4 toxicities was observed between groups 1 and 2 (P=0.035). Our study indicated that gemcitabine (800 mg/m2) on days 1 and 8 every 21 days was favorable for pretreated TCL patients.