Hereditary cancer is a major disease that will seriously affect the health of the people and increase the economic burden. It has a high risk of recurring cancer. Disease perception is an important factor that affects health behavior of patients. This article reviews the definition of disease perception, the effect of disease perception on the behavior of cancer patients, the status quo of disease perception in hereditary cancer patients and evaluation tools, etc., in order to provide a basis for the dynamic research of disease perception of hereditary cancer patients and the formulation of relevant intervention measures.