Increasing evidence indicates that inflammation plays a crucial role in cancer development. A novel scoring system based on albumin and the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) was developed and incorporated into a nomogram to create a more accurate prognostic tool for oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) patients. A retrospective review was performed on 613 consecutive patients undergoing ablative surgery for OSCC between September 2005 and December 2014. NLR and albumin were determined and used to calculate an albumin/NLR score (ANS). The nomogram was based on the ANS and several clinicopathological manifestations, and its accuracy was determined by the concordance index (c-index). A high ANS was significantly associated with aggressive tumor behaviors, such as T status, overall stage, extranodal extension, perineural invasion, tumor depth, and decreased overall survival (OS). Multivariate analysis indicated that age, overall stage, extranodal extension, and ANS were independent factors for OS. The c-index for OS prognosis was 0.750 using this nomogram compared to 0.688 using TNM staging alone. The prognostic accuracy for OS in OSCC patients can be significantly improved using a nomogram that incorporates the novel ANS and other clinicopathological variables.