Objective To evaluate the clinical value of mini-probe endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) in determining the therapeutic strategy for early gastric cancer (EGC) before surgery. Methods 151 EGC lesions were enrolled in the study. The accuracy of EUS-determined depths were compared with histopathologic results, and the effects of EUS-based therapeutic decision-making plan was evaluated. Results The overall accuracy of EUS-determined T staging was 74.8 %. Multivariate analysis revealed that tumor size larger than 2 cm, endoscopic ulceration and tumor located at upper two thirds of the stomach were associated with EUS misdiagnosis (P < 0.05). 75.3 % (107/142) of the EGC patients received proper treatment according to EUS-based therapeutic selection. Conclusions Mini-probe EUS is a useful utility in T-staging and therapeutic strategy selection for EGC. Special attention should be paid when tumor diameter exceeds 2 cm, co-existence of ulcer or tumor located in the upper two-thirds portion of the stomach.