Abstract: Glycyrrhiza uralensis is a commonly used traditional Chinese medicine to treat the symptoms of organ fever, food poisoning, typhoid fever, sore throat, cough due to lung heat, children′s diseases and so on. In recent years, it has been found that the extract of Glycyrrhiza uralensis has good anti -cancer activity. 18β-glycyrrhetic acid, one of the main components in the extract of Glycyrrhiza uralensis, is found to have good anti-cancer activity. It can be obtained by hydrolysis of its precursor of glycyrrhizic acid. 18β-glycyrrhetinic acid exerts its anti-cancer effects by inhibiting cancer cell proliferation, inducing apoptosis of cancer cells, suppressing invasion and metastasis of cancer cells, preventing oxidation, prohibiting neovascularization and lymphangiogenesis, and regulating hormone secretion. The research progress of anti -cancer mechanism of 18β-glycyrrhetinic acid was reviewed, in hoping to provide references for the subsequent associated researches.