Recently, it has been reported that a first-line treatment of platinum-based chemotherapy plus cetuximab improved outcomes for recurrent and/or metastatic head and neck cancer patients. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the results of palliative chemotherapy for recurrent and/or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma and to analyze the prognostic factors. We retrospectively examined 39 consecutive patients with recurrent and/or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck who received chemotherapy including cetuximab in a first-line setting. Patients consisted of 32 males and 7 females with a mean age of 68 years. The chemotherapy regimens included 5-FU/carboplatin plus cetuximab for 32 cases and paclitaxel plus cetuximab for 5 cases. The median overall survival and progression-free survival were 9.0 and 5.3 months, respectively. The incidence of grade 3 or 4 adverse events associated with chemotherapy including cetuximab was relatively low （12.8%）. These results suggested that 5-FU/carboplatin plus cetuximab as the first-line treatment was acceptable in terms of efficacy and safety. Univariate analysis revealed that patients with good performance status and those receiving second-line chemotherapy had significantly longer overall survival and progression-free survival. Multivariate analysis based on the variables with p < 0.15 on the univariate analysis （performance status, histologic type, contents of first-line regimen, with or without second-line chemotherapy） showed that good performance status and administration of second-line chemotherapy were independent factors for a better prognosis.