This paper initiates the study of the mathematical aspects of the ad-hoc Lanzhou index. If G is a graph with the vertex set {x1,…,xn}, then the ad-hoc Lanzhou index of G is defined by Lz˜(G)=∑i=1ndi(n−1−di)2, where di represents the degree of the vertex xi. Several identities for the ad-hoc Lanzhou index, involving some existing topological indices, are established. The problems of finding graphs with the extremum values of the ad-hoc Lanzhou index from the following sets of graphs are also attacked: (i) the set of all connected ξ-cyclic graphs of a fixed order, (ii) the set of all connected molecular ξ-cyclic graphs of a fixed order, (iii) the set of all graphs of a fixed order, and (iv) the set of all connected molecular graphs of a fixed order.