Objective Analyzed the expression of programmed death receptor- ligand 1 (PD-L1), insulin-like growth factor Ⅱ mRNA binding protein 3 (IMP3) in breast cancer tissues, explored the relationship among them and patients' clinicopathological characteristics and postoperative recurrence. Methods Retrospectively analysed the clinical datas of 102 patients with invasive breast cancer admitted to the department of pathology of Ji'an Maternal and Child Health Hospital and Ji'an Central People's Hospital from January 2015 to March 2021, the pathological specimens of cancer tissues from patients were collected, and the expression of PD-L1 and IMP3 in pathological tissues were detected used by SP immunohistochemical staining method, the relationship among the PD-L1 and IMP3 expression levels, clinicopathological characteristics and postoperative recurrence of patients. Results The positive expression rates of PD-L1 and IMP3 among 102 cases breast cancer pathological tissue specimens were 57.84% and 19.61% respectively; the the positive expression rate of IMP3 in the pathological tissues of breast cancer patients with different molecular types from high to low were Basal-like (66.67%), Luminal B type [Human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER-2) positive] (17.24%), HER-2 overexpression type (15.38%), Luminal type A (14.29%), Luminal B type (HER-2 negative) (10.00%) in order (all P < 0.05); and the positive expression rate of IMP3 in breast cancer tissues with necrosis (33.33%) was significantly higher than that in those without necrosis (14.67%) (P < 0.05); with the gradual increase in the risk of recurrence in breast cancer patients after surgery, the positive expression rate of PD-L1 and IMP3 in breast cancer tissues gradually increased, but comparing between groups, the difference was without statistical significance (all P > 0.05); Spearman rank correlation analysis showed that, there was a positive correlation between the positive expression of PD-L1 and IMP3 in breast cancer tissues (r = 0.172), but difference was without statistical significance (P > 0.05). Conclusion The levels of PD-L1 and IMP3 in breast cancer pathological tissues are highly expressed, especially in the pathological tissues of triple-negative breast cancer, the expression level is highest, and the positive expression of IPM3 and the expression level changes are related to the poor prognosis and progression of breast cancer patients, while the positive expression of PD-L1 and the expression level changes are not related to the poor prognosis and progression of breast cancer patients, and there is no obvious correlation between the positive expression of PD-L1 and IPM3 .