Objective To probe into effective surgical methods to reduce post-operational recurrence rate of nodular goiter.Methods One hundred and fifty-seven patients with nodular goiter who were admitted and had operations in our hospitals between Jan,2007 and June,2011 were assigned to one of the following 4 groups:total thyroidectomy(TT),nearly total thyroidectomy (NTT),subtotal thyroidectomy (STT),removal of lesion only or partial thyroidectomy (also termed as local removal,LR).Postsurgical recurrences and complications were compared among these groups.Results The recurrences were statistically analysed.There was a highly significant difference between TF and STT、TT and LR、NTT and LR; no difference was observed between TT and NTT,STT and STT + E,STT and LR.A statistical analysis was also carried out on the postsurgical compications in these patients.highly significant differnce was found between TT and STT,TT and NTT,TT and LR.There was a significant diffrence between STT and NTT.There was no difference between STT and LR,NTT and LR.Conclusion TT,STT,NTT are all effective operations for nodular goiter and should be advocated.Satisfactory efficacy may be obtained with oral thyroxine or euthyrox for postsurgical lifetime.However,LR or partial thyroidectomy should be adopted cautiously.