Abstract: Abstract: Objective To evaluate the therapeutic effects of total thyroidectomy (TT) and subtotal thyroidectomy (ST) in the treatment of multiple nodular goiter. Methods The PubMed, Embase, Cochrane library, OVID, CNKI, Wanfang and VIP databases were retrieved by computer. The valid data was selected and compared using Review Manager 5.3 software.Results A total of 9 articles were included, with a total of 2 397 patients, of which 1 323 underwent total thyroidectomy (TTgroup) and 1 074 underwent subtotal thyroidectomy (ST group). Meta-analysis showed that compared with ST group, the recurrence rate of nodules was significantly lower in TT group (OR=0.07, 95%CI 0.03-0.18, P＜0.05), and the incidence of transient hypoparathyroidism increased (OR=1.92, 95%CI 1.41-2.62, P＜0.05). There were no significant differences in transient recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy (OR=1.59，95%CI 0.95-2.65，P＞0.05), permanent recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy (OR=0.81，95%CI 0.24-2.74，P＞0.05) and the incidence of permanent hypoparathyroidism (OR=1.32，95%CI 0.46-3.79，P＞0.05) between the two groups. Conclusion Compared with ST, TT can reduce the recurrence rate of patients with nodules and increase the incidence of transient parathyroid function. Total thyroidectomy has certain advantages in the treatment of multiple nodular goiter.

Key words: goiter, nodular, total thyroidectomy, subtotal thyroidectomy, Meta-analysis