Objective: To assess and compare the two procedures, total thyroidectomy (TT) and partial thyroidectomy (PT), for differentiated thyroid cancer in terms of associated injuries, survival and recurrence rate, so as to provide a reference and basis for surgical procedure option of this disease. Methods: Thirteen controlled clinical trials that met the inclusion criterion were collected from several domestic and global databases, and a Meta-analysis was performed on the data concerning associated injuries, survival and recurrence rate of the patients selected using fixed-effects and random-effects model, respectively. Results: The incidences of recurrent laryngneal nerve injury and parathyroid injury of TT group were both significantly higher than those of PT group [(OR=1.58, 95% CI=1.04–2.42, P=0.03), (OR=4.29, 95% CI=3.09–5.94, P<0.000)]. There was no difference in short- to mid-term survival (20 years or less) between the two groups, while the recurrence rate of the low-risk patients in TT group was significantly lower than that in PT group (OR=0.42, 95% CI=0.32–0.55, P<0.000). Conclusion: For patients with differentiated thyroid cancer at different risk levels, the principle of individualized treatment should be implemented, and the relatively conservative resection is appropriate for the low-risk patients.