To study the relationship between recurrence factors, recurrence sites, prognoses and disease free intervals (DFI), 63 patients with recurrent breast cancer after radical surgery were divided into 3 groups by disease free intervals of less than 2 years (A group, 25 cases), 2 to 5 years (B group, 23 cases) and more than 5 years (C group, 15 cases). The average age at surgery was higher, and the diameter of the tumor decreased as the DFI increased. The rate of lymph node metastasis was higher in group A. The proportion of cases in stage b was small in group C. Common sites of recurrence were soft tissue in group A and and bone in group C. The survival rate was significantly higher in group C compared to those in groups A and B (p<0.05). It is necessary to follow patients treated for breast cancer for a long period postoperatively, and if the recurrence develop, multidisciplinary therapy to prolong survival should consider these prognostic factors.