Highlights•In General, TNM staging which primary tumor and nodal volume is not included, been used to predict the prognosis of oral cavity cancer.•Recent studies, primary tumor volume has increasing evidence for predict prognosis.•We studied the role of nodal volume in oral tongue cancer for the survival outcomes.•The result showed that nodal volume of ≥3.95 cm3was a poor prognostic factor for distant metastasis.•Nodal volume may use in adjunct with TNM staging to predict disease prognosis in oral tongue cancer.