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Background Surgical resection is essential in the treatment of early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), followed by rehabilitation with physical exercise training to improve physical capacity, quality of life (QoL) and symptom burden. In Denmark, rehabilitation is municipality-based and not disease-specific and without a maintenance model. We aimed to investigate QoL and symptoms 6–12 months after NSCLC surgery, hypothesising impaired QoL and symptom levels. Moreover, we explored rehabilitation attendance.Methods An observational, cross-sectional, survey-based study was conducted from March to June 2025 across two Danish regions in patients after surgery for stage I or II NSCLC and without adjuvant oncological treatment (preregistration: osf.io/vmpft). Each site contacted their own eligible patients via digital mail. Registry data from the Danish Lung Cancer Registry and electronic patient registries: socio-demographics, disease-specific characteristics and surgical procedure. Survey data: QoL and symptoms burden (measure: The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire–Core 30; Reporting: Raw and transformed scores and dichotomised according to defined thresholds and cut-offs for clinical importance) and self-reported information about rehabilitation attendance. Data analyses: descriptive and stratified analyses.Results We identified 168 patients, 94 (56% of 168) were eligible and 67 (71% of 94) responded to the survey. No differences were found in baseline characteristics and overall mean time since surgery was 8.9±1.8 months. Current QoL and symptoms were clinically impaired (eg, physical functioning: 51%; dyspnoea: 70%). Around half (54%) reported having attended a rehabilitation programme and those having attended were more likely to have clinically impaired physical functioning and dyspnoea at present.Conclusions QoL and symptoms were impaired 6–12 months after NSCLC surgery, and the current level did not seem to be related to having attended a postsurgical rehabilitation programme. Disease-specific challenges should be addressed in future rehabilitation and maintenance models.