Objective To investigate the relationships between the peripheral blood neutrophils-to-lymphocytes ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocytes ratio (PLR) and the prognosis of patients with glottic squamous cell carcinoma (GSCC). Methods Clinicopathological and follow-up data of 115 patients with GSCC were collected and reviewed. The best cut-off points of preoperative peripheral blood NLR and PLR for predicting postoperative survival were determined by establishing the receiver working characteristic curve (ROC curve). The patients were divided into low NLR and high NLR groups, low PLR and high PLR groups. The relationships between NLR, PLR and the clinicopathological characteristics of the patients were analyzed. The predictive effects of preoperative peripheral blood NLR and PLR on postoperative survival were evaluated by univariate and multivariate analyses. Results Of all the 115 patients, 107 were followed up with a follow-up rate of 93.0%. Out of the 107 patients, 27 died of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma and 80 survived. According to the ROC curve, the critical values of PLR and NLR were 139.79 and 2.83 respectively. The total 5-year survival rate of the 107 patients was 74.8%. The 5-year survival rate of patients with low PLR was 82.7%, whereas that with high PLR was 56.3%, the difference was statistically significant (P=0.004). The 5-year survival rate of patients with low NLR was 81.8%, while that with high NLR was 56.7%, and the difference was statistically significant (P=0.003). Univariate analysis showed that the prognosis of GSCC patients was related to T stage, lymph node metastasis, NLR level and PLR level (all P<0.05). Multivariate analysis revealed that the PLR and NLR were independent factors affecting the prognosis of GSCC patients (all P<0.05). Conclusion PLR and NLR may be independent factors affecting the prognosis of GSCC patients.