Utility and safety of EMR for colorectal lesions and lesion-lifted condition as an indicator of the tumor invasion were investigated. We investigated 672 cases and 708 lesions treated between 1993 and 2006. We classified the lesion-lifted condition at the time of submucosal fluid injection, using four categories: "completely lifted/soft", "completely lifted/hard", "incompletely lifted", and "non-lifting". The pit patterns and lifted conditions were related to tumor pathology and the extent of tumor invasion, and often corresponded to particular macroscopic types of tumors. Early colorectal cancer was treated in 231 cases by EMR alone, while 29 cases received additional colectomy after EMR because of an unfavorable pathology. Complications after EMR included bleeding in 19 cases (2.8%) and abdominal pain in 3 (0.4%). There were no cases of perforation. Recurrence occurred in 5 cases (2.2%) (4 cases were cured by re-EMR; one case required surgical resection) out of 231 cancer cases.