Objective To summarize the relation between tumor location and lymph node metastasis in early stage of breast cancer, which is aimed at providing a more individualized treatment for breast cancer patients. Method The literatures about breast cancer location and lymph node metastasis in recent years were extracted, through the literatures study we made a thematic review of the relation between them. Results There were two main classification methods for the location of breast tumors at present: tumor in the different quadrants and tumor to skin distance. In the quadrant classification method, the tumor in the upper inner quadrant (UIQ) had the lowest lymph node metastasis rate, while the lower inner quadrant (LIQ) tumor recurrence-free survival rate and overall survival rate were significantly lower than other quadrants. When measuring tumor to skin distance, the closer the tumor was to the skin, the more likely lymph node metastasis occurred. In combination with the distribution, histology, and anatomical differences of lymphatic and lymphatic networks, our study group proposed to classify tumors according to different anatomical levels of the breast, thus the anatomic location of the tumor was divided into four types: constricted in the gland, break the anterior gland, break the posterior gland, and break both anterior and posterior gland. Conclusions Regardless of the way the location is classified, the location of breast tumors is closely related to lymphatic and lymph node metastasis. The new classification according to the distribution of tumors at different anatomical levels of the breast accords with the law of lymphatic metastasis is scientific and reasonable. Therefore, during clinical practices, we recommend to use the new method to classify tumor location, and we should consider the differences in the location of the patients’ tumor to assess the status of axillary lymph node, which may provide a more individualized treatment for breast cancer patients.