Objective：To investigate the efficacy of postoperative chemotherapy in patients with intermediate risk factors by analyzing the prognosis and life quality of patients undergoing postoperative chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Methods：A retrospective study was conducted on 113 patients at the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University who underwent hysterectomy for clinical stage ⅠB~ⅡA1 with intermediate risk factors during January，2010 to June，2017. Of these patients，56 patients had adjuvant chemotherapy，and 57 patients had radiotherapy. The disease-free survival（DFS），overall survival（OS）and quality of life were compared between the two groups. Results：There was no significant difference in age and pathological type between the two groups. Three-year DFS rates and OS rates were 92.8%，96.4% in chemotherapy group，and 91.2%，96.5% in radiotherapy group. There were no statistically significant difference（P＞0.05）. There were significant differences in body function，role function，social function，appetite and overall quality of life between chemotherapy groupand radiotherapy group，and the former was superior to the latter. In side effects，the chance of lymphedema and menopause symptoms were lower in chemotherapy group than in radiotherapy group，and the difference was statistically significant（P < 0.05）. There are more persons that still have sex in chemotherapy group than in radiotherapy group（66.1% vs. 40.4%）. The quality of sex life was higher in patients treated with chemotherapy after surgery than those who were treated with radiotherapy（P < 0.05）. Conclusion：It is effective for patients who have intermediate risk factors after radical hysterectomy to receive chemotherapy compared to those receiving radiotherapy. Besides，overall quality of life of patients with chemotherapy is better than that of patients with radiotherapy. Systemic chemotherapy may be an alternative treatment choice for adjuvant therapy in intermediate-risk stage ⅠB~ⅡA1 cervical cancer.