The global average annual incidence of oral cancer is 4/100,000 and the mortality is 1.9/100,000 causing the deaths of over 170,000 people worldwide each year. Squamous cell carcinoma accounts for at least 90% of all malignant neoplasms of the oral cavity. Smoking and alcohol are the most important etiological factors with the status of HPV being questionable in the development of oral cancer. Precancerous lesions such as leukoplakia and erythroplakia often precede the development of cancer. The clinical presentation is most often nonspecific and patients usually complain of a wound that does not heal. Patient’s history and physical examination are crucial in diagnosing the illness and biopsy of the lesion is the gold standard in confirming the diagnosis. Diagnostic imaging is used in preparation for surgery and for the purpose of staging. Therapeutic options are radiotherapy, chemotherapy, biological therapy and the most common one – surgical therapy. Depending on the spread of the disease, surgical modalities are intraoral excision and composite tumor excision surgery in block with neck dissection. Salvage surgery is applied after the failure of the first therapeutic option. Complications of surgical operations are severe and include: bleeding, infections, wound dissociation, neurological complications due to cranial nerve damage, speech disorders, difficulty swallowing and aesthetic disfigurement. Today reconstruction is performed in every operation in which primary closure of the wound is not possible. This thesis includes a review of basic epidemiological, etiological, clinical and diagnostic data on the disease with special reference to the modalities of surgical treatment, its advantages, disadvantages and complications.