Background:The 1997 international consensus conference on renal cell cancer (RCC) prognosis suggested erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and anaemia as prognostic biomarkers, but most studies reviewed were limited by small sample sizes.Methods:The Cox proportional hazards model was used to evaluate whether ESR, ALP, haemoglobin (Hb), and haematocrit (Hct) could predict survival outcomes in 1307 patients with clear cell RCC (ccRCC) who underwent nephrectomy during 1994–2008.Results:During a median follow-up of 43 months, we found that the patients with preoperative high levels of ESR, had a 2.10-fold (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.21–3.67) greater risk of dying from RCC compared with patients with low levels (normal range). Patients with preoperative anaemia, assessed by Hb and Hct, had a 3.11-fold (95% CI: 1.17–8.25) and 6.20-fold (95% CI: 2.30–16.72) greater risk of dying from other illnesses, respectively, compared with patients without anaemia. ALP levels were not associated with ccRCC patients' survival. These associations for ESR and anaemia were more pronounced in patients with body mass index (BMI) <25 compared with patients with BMI ⩾25 kg m−2.Conclusion:Preoperative high ESR, but not ALP, was a significant predictor for cancer-specific survival among ccRCC patients. Anaemia increases the risk of death from other illness.