Objective To investigate the different exposure and treatment methods for the chorda tympanic nerve in middle ear surgery, and discuss the surgery techniques and the feasibility of the chorda tympanic nerve protection.Methods From September 2013 to March 2016, 155 cases of middle ear surgeries at Zhujiang hospital were included in this study, including 24 cases of type I tympanoplasty, 6 cases of atticotomy and type I tympanoplasty, 22 cases of atticotomy and type II tympanoplasty, 23 cases of canal-wall-up mastoidectomy and tympanoplasty,74 cases of canal-wall-down mastoidectomy and tympanoplasty, 6 cases of stapedotomy.The conditions of exposure and protection of the chorda tympanic nerve in the operation were compared, and their taste function at 3 days to 1 months postoperatively through questionnaires were evaluated.Results The preservation rate of the chorda tympanic nerve was up to 89.03%(138/155).There were 17 cases of chorda tympanic nerve injuries, of which 15 cases suffered hypogeusia with the rate being 88.2%(15/17).In 126 cases of the complete protection of the chorda tympanic nerve, 13 of them appeared hypogeusia at 10.3% (13/126), but they recovered within 1 months postoperatively.One case of delayed facial paralysis occurred in 16 days postoperatively, and recovered completely after 2 weeks of treatment with glucocorticoids.There was a significant difference in the incidence of postoperative abnormal taste between the complete protection of the chorda tympanic nerve and fracture during operation.Conclusion According to the different position and exposure of chorda tympanic nerve, the individual measures should be taken in middle ear surgery to protect the chorda tympanic nerve.