The treatment of persistent/recurrent and metastatic thyroid cancer and medullary thyroid cancer has made significant progress through the use of molecule-targeted therapy. While this approach has shown promise in improving patient outcomes and clinical symptoms, it also carries potential risks. The primary focus and challenge of targeted therapy is to optimize benefits while managing risks within predetermined thresholds. This review examines current targeted treatment practices in thyroid cancer and investigates the correlation between the timing of targeted therapy initiation and the patient benefits, aiming to lay the groundwork for subsequent research.