Tumor protein D52 (TPD52), which is involved in tumor cell proliferation, invasion, metastasis, inhibition of DNA repair and induction of protective immunity against tumor, is overexpressed in various cancers, such as breast cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer, ovarian cancer and blood system malignant lesions. TPD52 is one of the most promising candidate proteins relating to tumor diagnosis and targeted therapy. This paper intends to review the roles of TPD52 in tumor occurrence, development and its potential application value in tumor diagnosis and molecular targeted therapy, with the purpose of specifying the further study direction of TPD52 and achieving its better clinical application value.