Objective To understand the experiences and feelings of self-management in patients with upper limb lymphedema after breast cancer surgery, and to provide a reference for developing clinical intervention. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted among 15 postoperative breast cancer patients by qualitative research, and the Colaizzi seven-step analysis was utilized to analyze the interview data. Results Six themes were extracted:lack of self-management knowledge, not paid enough attention in their mind, difference in management style, many obstacles in the process of self-management, emotional problems in self-ma-nagement and insufficient social support. Conclusion There are many problems in the self-management process of patients with upper limb lymphedema after breast cancer surgery.Medical staff should help patients correct their wrong cognition and coping strategies of the disease, establish good self-management behaviors and habits, pay attention to their mental problems caused by self-management, and jointly improve patients′ self-management ability with family and society.