Ginsenoside Compound K(CK)is a kind of protopanaxadiol ginsenosides,which exerts antitumor effects on various cancers,such as lung cancer,liver cancer and breast cancer.Pharmacological studies have proved that CK induces tumor cell cycle arrest and apoptosis,as well as regulates tumor cell autophagy and inhibits tumor metastasis by regulating multiple signaling pathways(AMPK/mTOR and PI3K/Akt et cetera).However,as an intestinal metabolite of natural protopanaxadiol ginsenosides,CK cannot be directly extracted from the ginseng plant.Therefore,biotransformation from natural ginsenosides such as ginsenoside Rb1 or biosynthesis are utilized to obtain CK.Biotransformation of CK uses enzymes or microorganisms to transform different ginsenosides or their structural analogs into CK;biosynthesis of CK cultures cell factories and biosynthetic enzymes to synthesize glucose and other simple compounds into CK.In this review,we systematically summarized the research progress in biopreparation and antitumor mechanism of CK in recent years,with the aim of providing evidence for the future development of CK as a clinical anti-tumor candidate drug or an adjunctive drug.