Proton therapy is an advanced type of radiotherapy and the use of charged particle proton instead of high energy X-rays to treat cancer has been increasing in recent years, as it offers superior dose distribution and more effectively spares healthy tissues compared to conventional radiotherapy. Proton therapy has potential clinical advantages for some types of tumours that are difficult to treat by conventional radiotherapy, it also has the added benefits of no exit dose beyond tumour. Many countries that established cancer treatment facilities in the last decade chose proton therapy because of its lower capital cost and higher cost-effectiveness compared to carbon ions therapy. This review first describes the physical characteristics of proton beam for radiotherapy, followed by potential clinical benefits of proton beam therapy in Malaysia. The paper also discusses the challenges of implementing the first proton centre in Malaysia.