ObjectiveTo summarize the research progress of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) in the surgery of thyroid carcinoma in recent years. MethodsLiteratures about the recent studies on categories of SLNB and the neck lymph node dissection conducted by SLNB in the surgery of thyroid carcinoma were reviewed following the results searched from PubMed and CNKI data base. ResultsSLNB has a high detection rate and it is of great significance to detect the occult metastatic lymph nodes and guide the neck lymph node dissection during operation. ConclusionThe SLNB, with its high accuracy rate on the detection of occult metastatic lymph nodes, guides neck lymph node dissection during operation in order that it can maximize the benefits of patients.