Abstract: Over 80% of cancer patients undergo anesthesia for diagnostic or treatment procedures, and more than half of them need surgery. It is crucial to clarify the effects and mechanism of perioperative anesthesia for cancer patients to choose the appropriate anesthetic method and analgesics in clinic. Anesthesia-related drugs can inhibit or promote tumor recurrence and metastasis in tumor microenvironment (TME), epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), or cancer stem cells (CSC). This review aimed to summarize effects of perioperative anesthesia on the prognosis of cancer patients by comparing different anesthetic methods and analgesics in the perioperative period, expecting to provide the theoretical basis for clinical guidelines for perioperative anesthesia in cancer patients.