Objective: To compare the postoperative recurrence and survival between breast-conserving surgery and modified radical operation in breast cancer women in child bearing age. Methods: The clinical data of 82 breast cancer women in child bearing age admitted from January 2005 to June 2010 were collected. Of the patients, 48 cases (breast-conserving group) underwent breast-conserving therapy and 34 cases (modified radical operation group) were subjected to modified radical operation. The intraoperative conditions, postoperative complications, recurrence, metastasis, and quality of life of the two groups of patients were analyzed. Results: In breast-conserving group compared with modified radical operation group, the operative time [(74.4±8.3) min vs. (92.6±10.7) min], intraoperative blood loss [(46.8±6.7) mL vs. (77.0±68.4) mL] and drainage volume [(398.8±41.3) mL vs. (601.4±62.7) mL] were significantly reduced, the length of hospital stay [(13.4±3.2) d vs. (17.9±2.8) d] was significantly shortened, and the incidence of postoperative complications (6.3% vs. 14.7%) was significantly decreased (all P<0.05). The 1- and 2-year recurrence or metastasis rate showed no statistical difference between the two groups (P>0.05). The scores for social, emotional, role and physical function in breast-conserving group were all significantly higher than those in modified radical operation group (all P<0.05). Conclusion: For breast cancer women in child bearing age, breast-conserving surgery is similar to modified radical operation in regard to postoperative recurrence and metastasis, but the former is superior to the latter in respect to postoperative quality of life.