Abstract: Podoplanin, originally found on the surface of podocytes, belongs to the family of type-1 transmembrane si-alomucin-like glycoproteins. Podoplanin is expressed on the surface of the lymphatic endothelium cell (LEC) and some nor-mal tissues. It is involved in lymphatic vessel (LV) formation and the regulation of the shape of the podocyte foot and plays an important role in preventing cellular adhesion. As a specific marker of LEC, podoplanin has been used in many studies to detect LEC and to evaluate the LV microvascular density (LVMD) in peritumoral and intratumoral areas. Podoplanin is al -so expressed on the surface of malignant tumor cells, such as most squamous cell carcinomas, germ cell tumors, and tu-mors of the central nervous system. Podoplanin can increase the phosphorylation of ERM proteins, modulate the activity of Rho-family GTPases (in particular RhoA) and remodel the actin cytoskeleton, thus can induce tumor invasion and metasta-sis. Podoplanin is useful in determining the degree of malignancy, metastasis and prognosis, and may provide a new ap-proach for anti-tumor therapy.