Approximately 50% of colorectal cancer patients will develop liver metastases. Synchronous colorectal liver metastasis (CRLM) refers to liver metastasis identified before or upon the diagnosis of colorectal cancer. At present, surgical resection remains the only potential cure for patients with synchronous CRLM. With the advancement of medical technology, surgical strategies for primary and metastatic lesions include staged resection and simultaneous resection. The selection of surgical resection sequence for primary and metastatic lesions in staged resection and the selection of surgical opportunity in simultaneous resection are still controversial. Multiple surgical methods are employed to treat liver metastases. To improve the R0 resection rate of CRLM patients, parenchyma-preserving hepatectomy, two-step hepatectomy and liver transplantation are commonly adopted. Meantime, surgery combined with local treatments such as radiofrequency ablation, microwave ablation and stereotactic radiotherapy can also achieve the therapeutic goal of no evidence of disease. In this article, research progress at home and abroad was reviewed to investigate the optimal surgical strategy for CRLM.