Objective To evaluate the effect of different rehabilitation exercises on shoulder joint function after breast cancer surgery.Methods Randomized controlled trials on the improvement of shoulder joint function by exercise in patients with breast cancer after operation were retrieved from CNKI, VIP, Wanfang Data, SinoMed, PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library and Web of Science databases.The retrieval time was from the establishment of the database to January 2024.The quality assessment and data analysis of the literature were performed using the Stata17.0 software.Results A total of 13 studies were included, involving 9 exercise methods and 994 patients.The results of the network Meta-analysis showed that the effects of hydrotherapy and progressive rehabilitation exercise were better than those of routine nursing in improving shoulder flexion function (both P＜0.05), and the effect of hydrotherapy was the best.In terms of improving shoulder extension function, the effects of progressive rehabilitation exercise, proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation and tuina were better than those of routine nursing (all P＜0.05), and the effect of progressive rehabilitation exercise was the best.In terms of improving shoulder external rotation function, the effect of progressive rehabilitation exercise was better than that of routine nursing (P＜0.05).In terms of improving the internal rotation function of the shoulder, there was no statistical difference between the two exercise methods involved. In terms of pain relief, the intervention effect of resistance training was better than that of routine nursing (P＜0.05).Conclusion Hydrotherapy can better improve shoulder flexion function.Progressive rehabilitation exercise has more advantages in improving shoulder extension and external rotation function.Resistance training has the best effect in improving shoulder pain.