Abstract: As the incidence of thyroid disease continues to rise，the need for surgical treatment is increasing.Total thyroidectomy and central lymph node dissection are important methods for clinical treatment of thyroid cancer.However，the incidence of postoperative complications of hypoparathyroidism and hypocalcemia is still relatively high.The main reason for the complications is the inaccurate identification of the parathyroid glands during the surgical procedure.In recent years，many scholars at home and abroad have reported a variety of new parathyroid gland recognition techniques during surgery，and this article reviews and analyzes these technological advances.

Key words: parathyroid glands, thyroidectomy, recognition, protection