Objective: To investigate the clinicopathologic features and diagnostic methods of intraductal papillary lesions of the breast. Methods: Using a retrospective approach, the clinical data of 1 211 patients with different types of intraductal papillary lesions of the breast were analyzed, which included age distribution, characteristics of nipple discharge and breast mass, and results of histopathological and imaging examination. Results: Among the 1 211 patients, 874 cases were intraductal papilloma, 231 cases were papillomatosis, and 106 cases were papillocarcinoma. The average age of patients with malignant lesion was significantly higher than that of patients with benign lesion (P<0.01), and the high incidence age for papilloma and papillomatosis was between the ages of 31 and 50 years. Sixteen percent of the patients had a history of breast disease surgery, and the number of cases that experienced repeated breast surgery or bilateral breast surgery in papillomatosis patients was higher than that in papilloma or papillocarcinoma patients (P<0.05). Different types of nipple discharge occurred in 67.8% of the patients, and in papillocarcinoma patients, the number of cases with nipple discharge was lower but the number of cases with bloody discharge was higher than that in patients with benign lesion (P<0.05). Breast mass was seen, during surgery, in about 80% of the patients with benign lesion and in all the patients with malignant lesion, and the incidence of moderate/severe atypical hyperplasia in papillomatosis patients was higher than that in papilloma patients (P<0.05); the mass greater than 1.0 cm was usually accompanied with moderate/severe atypical hyperplasia, and the average size of papillocarcinoma was (1.93±0.78) cm. The accuracy rate of galactography or fiber breast duct endoscopy for diagnosis of benign lesion was higher than that of ultrasound and mammography (P<0.05). Conclusion: Different types of intraductal papillary lesions have some common manifastations, but also have their own characteristics, and knowledge about these features may be helpful for correct clinical diagnosis and treatment.