Objective To evaluate the diagnostic value of intraoperative frozen section (FS) for parotid gland tumours via comparing FS with final histopathologic diagnosis. Methods The intraoperative FS results of 136 patients with parotid tumors were analyzed and compared with their final histopathologic diagnosis. Results Of all the 136 cases, 97 were diagnosed as benign tumors of parotid gland and 39 as malignant with the final histopathology. The accuracy of intraoperative FS in detecting malignant tumors was 95.6%. In 12 of the 39 cases with malignant tumors of high pathological grade confirmed by final histopathologic diagnosis, the accuracy of intraoperative FS was 76.9%. Conclusion Intraoperative frozen section may provide accurate information on detecting malignant parotid tumors and useful information on picking out highgrade carcinoma rapidly. The use of intraoperative FS in parotid surgery is recommended.