Rhodiola is a kind of herb commonly used in traditional medicine in many countries. Its extract has anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory and anti-cancer activities. This paper reviews Rhodiola and its active extracts from six aspects, including inducing tumor cell apoptosis, affecting the cell cycle, inhibiting tumor cell proliferation, enhancing the body's anti-tumor immune response, inducing autophagy, regulating tumor angiogenesis, and reversing tumor resistance. At the same time, the anti-cancer activity of the drug, the molecular mechanisms and signal pathways involved in Rhodiola exerting the above functions are also introduced in detail, hoping to provide a theoretical basis for the clinical application of Rhodiola.