Lajos Sătmăreanu played for Romania in 42 matches, scoring one goal, making his debut in a 1–1 friendly against Uruguay, which took place in Montevideo on Estadio Gran Parque Central. He played six games at the successful 1970 World Cup qualifiers, also being used by coach Angelo Niculescu in all the minutes of the three group matches from the final tournament as Romania did not advance to the next stage. Sătmăreanu also played 9 matches at the 1972 Euro qualifiers, scoring one goal in the first quarter-finals game out of three against Hungary, who eventually defeated Romania in the third game, advancing to the final tournament. He played four matches at the 1974 World Cup qualifiers, his last match being a 1–0 victory against East Germany.