Approximately 30 per cent of patients who undergo cholecystectomy for biliary dyskinesia will continue to have symptoms after surgery. Quality of life has not been evaluated but may be decreased in these patients. The purpose of this study was to measure quality of life after laparoscopic cholecystectomy in these patients to better define optimal treatment of biliary dyskinesia. All patients with biliary dyskinesia (defined as the absence of gallstones, and a gallbladder ejection fraction of <35%) who underwent cholecystectomy at our institution from January 31, 2000 to January 31, 2005 were identified. Preoperative data including ultrasound, biochemical data, and pathology were retrieved by chart review. Postoperative assessment included the Gastrointestinal Quality of Life Index and a symptom survey. The postoperative quality of life was compared with historic standards. The quality of life was also compared with preoperative variables to determine if any variables predicted outcome. A total of 66 patients were identified as fitting the inclusion criteria. Forty-three patients were reached by phone and 30 agreed to participate. Patients were noted to have good recall as to preoperative symptoms when the retrospective survey of symptoms was compared with the medical record. The mean +/- SD postoperative quality of life in the study population was 113 +/- 20. This is higher than in historic patients with gallbladder disease before (84 +/- 19) and after (102 +/- 13) cholecystectomy. Quality of life in the study group was lower than the healthy control (125 +/- 13). Patients having both postprandial nausea and vomiting before surgery had a lower quality of life (P < 0.029) after surgery as compared with those without these preoperative symptoms. When adjusted for nausea and vomiting, the quality of life in study patients (119 +/- 14) was similar to normal controls. No other symptom, laboratory, pathologic, or sonographic data were predictive of a lower quality of life. Cholecystectomy is beneficial for most patients with biliary dyskinesia. Nausea and vomiting were negative predictors of quality of life after cholecystectomy. These patients with nausea and vomiting may have a global gastrointestinal motility disorder and are less likely to benefit from cholecystectomy.