This retrospective study aimed to investigate the clinical value of local surgery in stage IV BC and determined whether the survival outcomes were affected by the breast cancer subtype (BCS). Women with de novo stage IV BC from 2010 to 2013 were included using the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results database. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed to evaluate the prognostic factors for breast cancer-specific survival (BCSS) and overall survival (OS). Among 9,256 patients were identified, 3,130 (33.8%) were received local surgery. Patients with hormone receptor (HR)+/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)- subtype were less likely to receive local surgery, while HR-/HER2- tumors were more likely to receive surgery. Multivariate analyses revealed that local surgery improved survival, surgical intervention was an independent favorable prognostic factor for BCSS (P < 0.001) and OS (P < 0.001). Patients who receipt of surgery had better survival outcomes compared with the non-surgery group, and the survival benefits of local surgery were not affected by the BCS status. Local surgery was improved survival for patients with stage IV BC regardless of the BCS status.