Abstract: Autophagy is a conserved catabolism process existing in most eukaryotes with the phagocytosis and degradation of its own structure by lysosomal. It is not only an intracellular recycling system but also one form of programed cell death. The change of autophagic activity has been detected in varieties of tumors， while the roles of autophagy are paradoxical in the growth and development of tumors. With the rapid growth of solid tumors， the tumor microenvironment is characterized by ischemia and hypoxia， which is an important factor in promoting drug resistance. More and more studies have demonstrated that autophagy also plays a key role in the process of hypoxiainduced drug resistance. Hypoxia can induce autophagy through at least three pathways including hypoxiainducible factor 1， AMPactivated protein kinase and activating transcription factor 4. Therefore， autophagy is a potential target for antitumor drug resistance， and inhibiting autophagy is expected to be an effective strategy in the treatment of cancer.