Systemic inflammatory responses (SIRs) can help predict survival in various cancers. The present study investigated the accuracy of neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and prognostic nutritional index (PNI) in predicting survival for patients with recurrent cervical cancer. A retrospective review of prognoses examined the associations among NLR, PLR, and PNI, and clinical characteristics and survival in 79 patients with recurrent cervical cancer after undergoing concurrent chemoradiation therapy (CCRT) or radical hysterectomies with or without CCRT. The Mann-Whitney U-test was used for statistical analyses. In addition, 12-month, 24-month and overall survival were analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier method. Cox's proportional hazard regression was used for univariate and multivariate analyses. Median survival was 15.0 months over follow-up periods of 2-93 months. At the last follow-up point, 54 had succumbed to disease and 25 were alive with disease. In univariate analysis, NLR, PLR and PNI were significantly associated with 12-month, 24 month and overall survival (12 months: P=0.021, P=0.001 and P<0.001; 24 months: P=0.020, P=0.008 and P<0.001; overall; P=0.032, P=0.032 and P<0.001, respectively). In multivariate analyses, PNI was an independent prognostic factor for 12-month, 24-month and overall survival (P=0.001, P=0.001 and P<0.001, respectively). PNI is a useful predictor of survival of recurrent cervical cancer.