Abstract Objective Intraperitoneal (IP) chemotherapy prolongs survival in optimally reduced ovarian cancer patients. For patients in whom optimal debulking cannot be achieved, one could incorporate IP therapy post-operatively if the cancer was optimally debulked following neoadjuvant chemotherapy. We sought to evaluate overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), percent of patients optimally debulked and toxicity in patients treated with this strategy. Methods Women with adenocarcinoma by biopsy or cytology with stage III/IV (pleural effusions only) epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal carcinoma that presented with bulky disease were treated with neoadjuvant intravenous (IV) paclitaxel 175 mg/m2 and carboplatin AUC 6 q 21 days × 3 cycles followed by surgery (if ≥ 50% decrease in CA125). If optimally debulked they received IV paclitaxel 175 mg/m2 and IP carboplatin AUC 5 (day 1) and IP paclitaxel 60 mg/m2 (day 8) q 28 days × 6 cycles. Results Sixty-two patients were registered. Four were ineligible. Fifty-six were evaluated for neoadjuvant chemotherapy toxicities. One patient died of pneumonia. Five patients had grade 4 toxicity, including neutropenia (3), anemia, leukopenia, anorexia, fatigue, muscle weakness, respiratory infection, and cardiac ischemia. Thirty-six patients had debulking surgery. Two had grade 4 hemorrhage. Twenty-six patients received post-cytoreduction chemotherapy. Four had grade 4 neutropenia. At a median follow-up of 21 months, median PFS is 21 months and median OS is 32 months for all 58 patients. PFS and OS for the 26 patients who received IV/IP chemotherapy is 29 and 34 months respectively. Conclusions These results compare favorably with other studies of sub-optimally debulked patients.