Abstract: Celastrol is one of the main active ingredients of Tripterygium wilfordii. It is a quinone-methyl triterpene compound with red needle-like crystal appearance and has a lot of biological activities. In 2015, celastrol is found to have a super-slimming effect, which attract a lot of scholars' interest. In recent years, more and more studies have shown that it has obvious pharmacological activity in anti-tumor. It can inhibit breast cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer, colorectal cancer, stomach cancer, liver cancer and the like through various signaling pathways. In this review, the anti-tumor effect of celastrol and its mechanism are described in order to provide new ideas for its further study.