Abstract: Lymphatic spread is an important metastatic pathway for cervical cancer. The classic radical hysterectomy could cause a high rate of long-term postoperative complications which were the results of surgical injury involving the pelvic autonomic nerves within the supporting ligaments of the cervix uteri. These complications seriously influenced the quality of life for the survivors. To avoid those complications，systematic nerve sparing radical hysterectomy（SNSRH）was proposed to treat early-stage cervical cancer currently. But whether SNSRH would remain some parametrial lymph nodes，which may influence the prognosis，was unclear. This article was to review the distributional characteristic and clinical significance of femal pelvic lymph nodes and parametrial lymph nodes，which could offer a surgical choice basis for early-stage cervical cancer patients.

Key words: Uterine cervical neoplasms, Lymph nodes, Lymph node excision, Sentinel lymph node biopsy, Lymphatic metastasis