Objective To evaluate the influence of frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET) on the cumulative live birth rate (cLBR) of the first cycle of controlled ovarian hyperstimulation in normal ovarian responsers. Methods Infertile patients who received in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF/ICSI) in Tangdu Hospital of Air Force Medical University from January 1 to December 31, 2016 were enrolled in this retrospective cohort study. Inclusion criteria:aged 20-39 years, normal ovarian reserve, and the first controlled ovarian hyperstimulation. Exclusion criteria:donor cycles, impaired ovarian reserve, polycystic ovarian syndrome or no embryo transfer after the first oocyte retrieval cycle. Logistic analysis was employed to explore the influence of FET on the cLBR and miscarriage rate after IVF/ICSI. Results A total of 1 141 patients who met the inclusion criteria were enrolled in this cohort, including 377 fresh embryo transfer cycles and 764 FET cycles. In FET cycles, the mean age of the patients was (29.85±3.68) years old, the mean body mass index was (22.06±2.81) kg/m², the mean duration of controlled ovarian hyperstimulation was (11.28±2.16) d, the mean dose of gonadotropin was (1 862.04±863.21) U, and the mean number of oocytes retrieved was 15.14±5.45. There was no statistical difference in the cLBR or miscarriage rate between fresh embryo cycles and FET cycles (68.44%[258/377] vs 66.10%[505/764], P=0.430; 5.31%[20/377] vs 8.38%[64/764], P=0.062). Logistic regression analysis results showed no beneficial effect of FET on the cLBR when compared to the fresh embryo transfer (odds ratio[OR]=0.99, 95% confidence interval[CI] 0.73-1.34, P=0.936); however, there was a trend that FET could increase the risk of miscarriage rate (OR=1.57, 95% CI 0.87-2.82, P=0.130). Conclusion FET cannot improve the cLBR after IVF/ICSI, but it might increase the miscarriage rate. Patients and clinicians should be very cautious when the "freeze all" strategy is about to be chosen. FET can be recommended only in case of high risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, pre-implantation genetic testing or prospective randomized controlled trial.