Abstract： Objective To study the clinical significance of preserving intercostobraehial nerve during axillary dissection for breast cancer. Methods Ninety-three cases of breast cancer were divided into experimen-tal group (preserving intercoatobrachial nerve) and contaol group (not preserving intercostobraehial nerve) re-spectively. All cases were followed up postoperatively. Results The postoperative morbidity of arm sensory dis-turbance was 15.2% in the experimental group, which was significantly different from that of the contaol group(76.6% ,X2=35.23 ,P<0.005). There was no local recurrence in any patients during the follow up period.Conclusion Preserving intereostobrachial nerve may significantly decrease the postoperative morbidity of arm sensory disturbance during axillary lymph nody excision in brease cancer and improve the quality of life.