Autophagy plays an important dual role in the occurrence and development of acute leukemia, inducing the apoptosis of leukemia cells to suppress the development of acute leukemia, and protecting the leukemia cells to sustain the survival and to resist the apoptosis induced by chemotherapy drugs. Some studies have showed that the drug sensitivity of acute leukemia cells can be improved by regulating autophagy to induce the apoptosis of leukemia cells, and thus, regulating autophagy is expected to be an effective therapeutic strategy of refractory/relapsed acute leukemia. This article reviews the recent progress of autophagy and acute leukemia treatment.