In recent years, thyroid tumors and some specific inflammatory diseases such as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis have received increasing attention from the medical community and the general public. The incidence of thyroid tumors in the natural population is about 5% when palpation is used, but the incidence can increase to 30% to 65% when modern high-grade ultrasonic instruments are used. Palpation (i.e., touching with the hand) can reliably detect tumors over 1 cm, while ultrasound can detect many millimeter tumors that are negative to palpation. Overall, benign adenomas account for the majority of thyroid tumors, but malignant thyroid tumors, commonly referred to as cancer, are on the rise due to overexposure to radiation, increased iodine intake, genetic factors, and other influences. Although open surgery can treat almost all thyroid nodules, minimally invasive approaches have become a hot research trend in the field of thyroid surgery, and surgical resection is no longer even considered to be the direction of surgical development. Some scholars believe that most thyroid nodules are benign, and if the nodules themselves do not cause clinical symptoms, especially small nodules, active follow-up should be the main focus. Those who disagree believe that although the vast majority of thyroid nodules are benign, there is a potential risk of malignancy, especially in benign nodules where there is focal suspicion of malignant tissue that warrants surgical intervention, but once the nodules are pathologically confirmed to be non-malignant after surgery, patients are not without complaints when faced with sequelae such as skin scars on the neck or hoarseness. Therefore, it is clear that research and development of treatments that are efficacious, quick, minimally invasive and less likely to cause complications can help to resolve this controversy. Endoscopic resection is the most popular minimally invasive treatment for thyroid tumors, which is highly sought after by young patients, especially young women, because the incision is small and not in the neck, so there is no trace of skin on the neck after surgery. It is undeniable that the endoscopic resection technique has indeed started a wave of minimally invasive treatment of thyroid tumors, especially benign adenomas, worldwide, and has brought cosmetic effects to many patients while treating the disease well. However, it should also be seen that this approach will certainly reveal some shortcomings as the level of awareness increases, and at least more and more surgeons have realized that this surgical approach cannot be called minimally invasive yet. Today, people are no longer strangers to microwaves, as almost every household owns a microwave oven. It goes without saying that microwaves are useful for heating up and cooking food. When microwaves are propagated in items rich in moisture, microwave energy can be converted into heat, and this heat occurs from within the object, so it is also known as endogenous heat, which is different from heating with a stove fire, which is known as exogenous heat, which heats up food through heat conduction, which is not only thermally inefficient, but also the surface of the item tends to scorch. Microwave heat generation is cleverly used in the treatment of tumors, and has been applied in liver tumors, kidney tumors, uterine fibroids and other diseases. Because the treatment process is combined with ultrasound, CT, MRI and other imaging methods, the treatment instruments are made in the form of very thin puncture needles, so it is very precise, minimally invasive, and completely effective. However, the microwave treatment of thyroid tumors started late, and the earliest microwave ablation treatment of thyroid diseases in China was carried out by Professor Zhang Jianquan, director of the ultrasound department of Shanghai Long March Hospital. The department has been actively developing, broadening and deepening the minimally invasive interventional ultrasound treatment under the leadership of Director Zhang Jianquan for a long time, and has a strong sense of innovation and innovative spirit. At the same time, he is actively carrying out multi-center clinical research on radiofrequency and microwave ablation treatment of thyroid tumors in many hospitals in China, and conducting regular academic exchanges with foreign counterparts in Korea and Italy. Professor Zhang Jianquan is the “first person” in microwave ablation treatment of thyroid tumor in China. He has developed a series of radiofrequency and microwave ablation needles for thyroid gland with famous microwave manufacturers in China, and created a set of safety protection measures and efficacy evaluation system, which has won the recognition of peers and patients. Ultrasound-guided percutaneous interstitial injection of anhydrous ethanol used to be an important minimally invasive treatment for thyroid nodules, with good efficacy for small nodules and simple cystic nodules; however, because the dispersion of ethanol is affected by the internal fiber separation and tissue density of thyroid nodules, there are often defects of uneven dispersion and inconsistent sclerosis for larger nodules and nodules with complex internal physical properties. In addition, the flow direction of ethanol is poorly controlled, and it is easy to leak around the nodules leading to chemical adhesions. With the introduction and rise of microwave, radiofrequency, laser and other thermal ablation means, anhydrous ethanol chemical ablation therapy is now in decline. High-energy laser ablation of thyroid nodules is a new type of treatment with clear efficacy and mild trauma, but it cannot be performed normally in China at present due to the licensing of the corresponding equipment. Microwave thermal ablation is a safe and controlled procedure with uncomplicated operation and almost no complications. After a maximum follow-up of 6 years, all nodules were confirmed to have undergone complete coagulation and necrosis with an efficiency of 100%, and the ablated necrotic nodules that remained in the body had no negative impact on the patients. This method can treat many types of thyroid tumors, including thyroid cancer. It is particularly effective for small (≤2 cm in diameter) substantial nodules, and for high-functioning nodules, it can also normalize the patient’s thyroid function and the suppressed iodine uptake of the extra-nodular thyroid tissue, and significantly improve the clinical symptoms of hyperfunction. Ultrasound-guided radiofrequency or microwave ablation for thyroid nodules is less invasive, more precise, more controllable, less complications, and more effective, and is a good supplement to traditional open surgery.