Objective To explore the clinical efficacy of radioactive drug 131I combined with surgical treatment for dif-ferentiated thyroid cancer.Method According to different treatment methods,113 patients with differentiated thyroid cancer were divided into resection group(n=54)and radiation group(n=59).Patients in the resection group underwent to-tal or subtotal thyroidectomy,while patients in the radiation group received radioactive drug 131I combined with total or subtotal thyroidectomy.The clinical efficacy,salivary gland function indicators(initial salivary pH value,salivary buffer pH value,salivary flow rate),thyroid hormone levels[thyroglobulin(Tg),thyroglobulin antibody(TgAb)],and incidence of adverse reactions were compared between the two groups.Result The total effective rate of radiation group was 96.61%,which was higher than 74.07%of the resection group,and the difference was statistically significant(P<0.01).After treatment,the initial salivary pH value and salivary buffer pH value in the two groups were higher than those before treatment,the salivary flow rates were lower than those before treatment,the initial salivary pH value and salivary buffer pH value in the radiation group were significantly higher than those in the resection group,and the salivary flow rate was significantly lower than that in the resection group,and the differences were statistically significant(P<0.05).After treat-ment,the Tg and TgAb levels in both groups were lower than those before treatment,and the Tg and TgAb levels in the radiation group were lower than those in the resection group,and the differences were statistically significant(P<0.05).The total incidence of adverse reactions in the radiation group was 16.95%,which was not statistically significant com-pared to 14.81%in the resection group(P>0.05).Conclusion The combination of radioactive drug 131I and surgical treat-ment for differentiated thyroid cancer can improve clinical efficacy,thyroid hormone levels,and have good safety.