ObjectiveInguinal hernias are a common disease that may present at all ages. Adolescents are a unique patient population between children and adults. The etiology and the surgical treatment strategies of adolescent indirect hernias are not clear. Specifically, whether these kinds of hernias should be treated by high ligation or mesh repair remains controversial. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of laparoscopic high hernia sac ligation in adolescent indirect hernia.MethodsThe data of adolescent patients who underwent laparoscopic high hernia sac ligation at the The First People’s Hospital of Foshan,China, from January 2012 to December 2019 were analyzed retrospectively. Data collected included their age, gender, weight, surgical method, hernia ring diameter, operation time, postoperative recurrence rate and postoperative complications.ResultsA total of 70 patients were enrolled, including 61 males (87.14%) and 9 females (12.86%),all patients were aged 13–18 years old (mean 14.87 ± 1.56years), weighed 28-92 kg (mean 53.04 ± 10.60 kg). All 70 patients underwent laparoscopic surgery except 2 patients with irreducible hernias who converted to laparotomy.The hernia ring diameter ranged from 0.5 to 3 cm (mean 1.39 ± 0.49 cm), and was ≤ 2 cm in 68 cases (97.14%).The operative length ranged from 12 to 105 min (average 24.96 ± 12.61 min), There were 37(52.9%) right-sided hernias, 32 (45.7%) left-sided hernias, 1 (1.4%) bilateral hernia.There were 67(95.7%)reducible hernias,2(2.9%)irreducible hernias ,and 1(1.4%)incarcerated hernia.Hospital stays ranged from 1 to 5 days (mean 2.37 ± 1.05 days). Follow-ups were performed from 30-119months (mean 74.27 ± 28.14months). There were no cases of recurrence, howere, incision infection occured in 1 patient, who underwent a second operation 6 months after surgery, and 4 (5.7%) patients had complaints of intermittent pain around the ligation incision site, mostly during exercise .ConclusionLaparoscopic high hernia sac ligation is feasible for treatment of adolescent indirect hernias with a hernia ring diameter of ≤ 2 cm.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12893-023-02048-w.