Objective To summarize the development of endoscopic thyroid surgery and expound the advantages and disadvantages. Method Reviewed the domestic and foreign literatures on different ways of endoscopic thyroid surgery. Results Gagner tried accomplish subtotal parathyroidectomy with endoscope at the first time in 1996. And then, Hüscher improved the endoscope technology and applied on thyroidectomy in 1997. Henceforth, endoscopic thyroid surgery had developed rapidly, from small neck incision surgery, such as endoscopic assisted small neck incision thyroidectomy, to traceless neck surgery, such as thoraco mammary approach, areola approach, axillary approach, retroauricular approach, combined approach, etc., to traceless body surface skin surgery in recent years, such as natural cavity oral approach. Completed endoscopic surgery makes the incision scar hide or even disappear, which had attracted the attention and learning of thyroid specialist clinicians all over the world. The choice of patients was more and more broad and diverse, and all kinds of approaches had different advantages and disadvantages.Conclusions The advantages, disadvantages, indications and contraindications of various endoscopic approaches are different. According to the location differences of individual thyroid masses and the requirements for aesthetics, the most appropriate endoscopic thyroid approach is selected to achieve the optimal solution of manual approach.