Abstract: Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the most common pathological type of thyroid carcinoma. And lymph node metastasis affects the prognosis of patients. At present, the mechanism of lymph node metastasis of PTC is not clear, and its diagnostic methods include ultrasound, fine needle puncture biopsy, CT, MRI, SPECT/CT, PET/CT etc., but the specificity and sensitivity are not high, combined use can improve the detection rate. The preferred treatment for lymph node metastasis of PTC is surgery. At present, early comprehensive diagnosis and effective treatment of PTC lymph node metastasis are problems to improve and enhance the quality of life of PTC patients.This article reviews the diagnosis and treatment status, and research progress of PTC lymph node metastasis.