Abstract: Objective To investigate the effect of combined use of transversus abdominis plane （TAP） block and dexmedetomidine on postoperative recovery in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Methods According to the random number table method, 80 patients were randomly and evenly assigned into the TAP combined with dexmedetomidine （TAD）, TAP, dexmedetomidine （D） and control （C） groups. Patients in the TAD and TAP groups received bilateral B ultrasound-guided TAP block with 20 ml of 0.375% ropivacaine for each side after the induction of anesthesia. Patients in the TAD and D groups received intravenous infusion of dexmedetomidine at a dose of 0.6 μg/kg during the surgery. Intraoperative consumption of remifentanil, cisatracurium and desflurane, the recovery time of spontaneous respiration, extubation time, the visual analogue scale （VAS） and Ramsay scores at 10 min （T1）, 30 min （T2）, 60 min （T3） and 4 h （T4） after extubation were statistically compared among different groups. Results Compared with the C group, intraoperative consumption of desflurane and remifentanil was significantly decreased in TAD and TAP groups （both P < 0.05）. Compared with the C group, the recovery time of spontaneous respiration and extubation time were remarkably shorter in the TAD and TAP groups （both P < 0.05）. At the T1-T4 time points, the VAS scores in the TAD and TAP groups were significantly lower than those in the C and D groups （all P < 0.05）. At T1-T2 time points, the Ramsay scores in the TAD, D and TAP groups were significantly higher than that in the C group （all P < 0.05）. At T3, the Ramsay scores in the TAD and TAP groups were significantly higher compared with that in the C group （both P < 0.05）. At T4, the Ramsay scores in the TAD and D groups were significantly higher than that in the TAP group （both P < 0.05）. Conclusions TAP block can yield satisfactory analgesic effect for laparoscopic cholecystectomy. TAP block in combination with dexmedetomidine can enhance the recovery quality of patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy.