Ovarian cancer is extremely difficult to treat once it has recurred. Treatment of recurrent ovarian cancer differs from primary treatment in that chemotherapy is often used as the first choice, followed by surgery. However, the 2011 edition of the NCCN guidelines emphasizes that for platinum-sensitive (complete remission for more than 6 months) recurrent ovarian cancer, assessment of whether surgery is still appropriate should be performed first, and secondary tumor cytoreduction should be prioritized for patients who are suitable for surgical treatment. Because chemotherapy drugs always kill cancer cells in a certain proportion, it is theoretically impossible to kill tumor cells completely even if chemotherapy is effective. Only surgical resection can control the tumor fundamentally. The most important evaluation index of secondary tumor cytoreduction is whether the tumor can be cut cleanly. Some studies have reported that secondary tumor cell reduction for recurrent ovarian cancer is of limited value if no fleshly residue can be achieved. Therefore, the key to secondary surgery for recurrent ovarian cancer is preoperative evaluation, which requires a more experienced ovarian cancer specialist to be competent. This type of surgery is also quite complex and risky, and often requires the synergy of surgical teams from different departments to complete it successfully. If it is technically difficult to achieve, it is best not to venture into secondary surgery, otherwise it will not only be difficult to achieve the treatment goal, but also make the subsequent treatment unnecessarily difficult. Platinum-resistant (complete remission less than 6 months) recurrent ovarian cancer is generally no longer suitable for surgery, except for a few special cases.