Objective To investigate the effect of preoperative anxiety on postoperative pain control and palinesthesia in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Methods A total of 82 patients were enrolled who were undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Beck’s anxiety ınventory (BAI) was administered to the patients: patients with anxiety were included in the anxious patient group and patients without anxiety were enrolled in the control group. Duration of surgery, duration of anesthesia, adverse effects and the time for the modified Aldrete score to reach 9 were recorded. During the postoperative period, patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) with fentanyl was used for pain control. Visual analog scale (VAS) scores, fentanyl consumption and extra analgesic requirements were recorded. Results Among all patients, 32 (39%) patients had preoperative anxiety according to preoperative score of BAI. Compaired with the control group, the time for the modified Aldrete score to reach 9 was seen as significantly longer and more postoperative side effects were determined in the anxious patient group. Also in the anxious patient group, postoperative VAS score and fentanyl consumption were significantly higher, and more lornoxicam was needed (P＜0.01 or P＜0.05). Preoperative score of BAI exhibited a positive correlation with VAS scores postoperatively (P＜0.01 or P＜0.05). Conclusions In this study, preoperative anxiety negatively affects recovery from anesthesia and control of postoperative pain. In this patient group, the increased need for postoperative analgesia must be adequately met.