OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) on survival in HIV infected patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). PATIENTS AND METHODS: All consecutive HIV infected patients with NSCLC diagnosed between 06/1996 and 03/2007 at two University hospitals in Paris (France) were prospectively followed until death. The association between survival and clinical and biological factors was analyzed by univariate and multivariate models. Survival analysis was performed by Kaplan-Meier estimates and the Cox proportional hazards regression model. RESULTS: During the study period, NSCLC was diagnosed in 49 consecutive HIV infected patients (median age 46 years); 84% had advanced disease. Median survival was 8.1 months (range 5-10 months). In multivariate analysis, baseline parameters with significant positive impact on survival included performance status (PS) < or =1 (HR=0.2, 95%CI [0.09, 0.46], p=0.0001), stage I-II disease (HR=0.15, 95%CI [0.04, 0.53], p=0.003), and use of HAART (HR=0.4, 95%CI [0.2, 0.9], p=0.027). CONCLUSION: HAART is a good prognostic factor for survival in HIV infected patients with NSCLC. Stage of disease and PS are two other valid survival prognostic factors.