The incidence of thyroid cancer is growing larger each year. However, the development of diagnostic and treatment programs in this field has been severely constrained for quite a long time, due to the lack of clinical registry data based on Chinese population. Therefore, the postoperative follow-up and clinical study of thyroid cancer have drawn increasing attention from Chinese scholars in recent years. Despite the large population base and abundant clinical cases in China, the cancer registry work has been proceeding slowly and coverage of the population is still low, especially the long-term follow-up study of thyroid cancer is greatly problematic under the weak basic conditions. The authors analyze the current status of cancer registry and the difficulties in follow-up and investigative work for thyroid cancer in China, based on reference to advanced cancer registry and follow-up models in foreign countries combined with personal experience in clinical practice and basic research.