Osthole is the main active component of the umbelliferous plant Cnidium. Many clinical and modern pharmacological studies have shown that osthole has the effects of antihypertensive，antiarrhythmic，antitumor，antimutagenic and slowing the progression of neurodegenerative diseases. Osthole has certain protective effects on various cancers，such as glial cancer，breast cancer，pancreatic cancer，lung cancer，gastric cancer，etc. However，as a coumarin compound，osthole has the shortcoming of poor oral absorption and low bioavailability. In order to improve its shortcomings，it is necessary to prepare new dosage forms of osthole，such as liposomes，micelles，solid dispersions etc.，thus to improve its clinical effects. This paper summarizes the pharmacological effects and dosage for osthole in the treatment of cancer in recent years，hope it can provide help for future research.