Pancreatic cancer is a highly invasive and malignant tumor with a significant propensity for distant metastasis, recurrence, and a high fatality rate. Recent research has revealed that cancer stem cells (CSCs) in the tumor tissue play a critical role in the initiation, development, metastasis, recurrence, and resistance to treatment of the cancer. The markers of CSCs hold potential value for clinical diagnosis and prognosis analysis of tumors and may serve as potential therapeutic targets. The dismal prognosis of pancreatic cancer may be attributed to the presence of pancreatic CSCs. Therefore, the study and identification of pancreatic CSCs will contribute to a better understanding the mechanisms underlying pancreatic cancer and the development of new treatment approaches.