Differentiated thyroid cancer usually has a good prognosis;however,recurrence occurs in 5％to 20％of patients after initial treatment,which causes physiopsychological and financial burdens for the patients.In the meantime,it complicates the treatment decision-making for clinicians.Different from initial treatment,the management of recurrent thyroid cancer should take comprehensive consideration of factors such as risks and benefits.Surgery is considered to be the first choice of treatment while radioactive iodine therapy is recommended for radioiodine-avid recurrent disease.Smaller lesions can be managed with active surveillance temporarily,and thermal ablation should only be applied to patients not suitable for additional surgery.In contrast,external beam radiotherapy and systemic therapies are considered only after all therapy options have been exhausted.