To explore the feasibility of Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR) for the diagnosis of colon neoplasms, fresh samples of eighteen cancers and ten adenomas were collected during colon surgery and were measured by FTIR via probe of attenuated total reflection (ATR). The peak position and the intensity of all bands were measured and compared between the malignant and benign groups. Results show that the FTIR of malignant neoplasm was different from that of benign one. (1)For the bands related to lipid: The ratio of I2 925/I1 460(p=0.018) and I1 740/I1 460(p=0.009) decreased in cancer FTIR spectrum, indicating the lower relative quantity of lipid in malignant neoplasm. (2)For the bands related to protein: The ratios of I3 375/I1 460(p=0.012) and I1 550/I1 460(p=0.041) increased in cancer, which shows that the relative quantity of protein was more in cancer than that in adenoma. (3) For the band related to nucleic acid: In malignant tissue the peak position in 1 080 cm-1 shifted toward a higher wave number (p=0.039), compared with that in benign one. And the ratio of I1 083/I1 460 increased significantly (p=0.036), illustrating the higher relative quantity of nucleic acid to lipids in malignancy. (4) The peak position of 1 305 cm-1 shifted to a lower wavenumber (p=0.041), which should be determined in further research. It is concluded that our initial research showed that the FTIR maybe develops into a promising method for rapid differential diagnosis of colon malignant and benign neoplasms.