Abstract: PURPOSE: To summarize the clinical characteristics, classification and principles of treatment of mandibular condyle fracture (MCF), to provide a theoretical basis for treatment of MCF. METHODS: Sixty-eight patients (91 sides) with MCF treated from April 2006 to April 2014 were selected. The epidemiology, clinical characteristics, classification, treatment methods and complications of MCF were retrospectively analyzed. The data were processed with SPSS 12.0 software package. RESULTS: Among 68 patients with MCF, 49 (72.06%)were male, 19 (27.94 %) were female; the proportion of male patients with MCF was significantly larger than that of female patients (P<0.05); 56 patients were 7-40 years old while 12 patients were 41 to 70 years old(P<0.05). The most commonly causes of MCF were violence and traffic accident. Encapsulation fractures were seen in 32 (47.06%)cases, condylar neck fractures in 16(23.53%) cases and subcondylar fractures in 20 (29.41%) cases. Among 32 cases with encapsulation fracture, type A fracture was in 13 cases, type B in 8 cases, type C in 6 cases and type M in 5 cases. Eleven（16.18%) patients were treated by conservative therapy and 57（83.82%） patients were treated by open surgery. Mouth opening and occlusion were significantly improved 2 weeks after operation (P<0.05), and the degree of improvement was significantly greater than conservative treatment (P<0.05). Significant difference was noted in final outcomes among encapsulation fractures, condylar neck fractures and subcondylar fractures after treatment(P<0.05); trans-parotid approach can significantly improve mouth opening, reduce malocclusion and mouth deviation(P<0.05); the rate of postoperative complications via pre-auricular approach was 40%, which was significantly higher (P<0.05) than traditional submandibular approach and trans-parotid approach; while the incidence of postoperative infection and salivation was not significantly different (P>0.05) among preauricular approach, trans-parotid approach and traditional submandibular approach. CONCLUSIONS: Intracapsular fracture is the most common type of MCF; treatment of MCF should be based on the patient's clinical characteristics and classification. Conservative treatment or open surgery can be applied in selected cases with good clinical results.