Abstract: Invasion and metastasis are the main causes for the death of cancer patients. Epithelial to mensenchymal transition（EMT） is implicated in the invasion and metastasis of tumor. EMT，which refers to the conversion of polarized，tight-junctional epithelial cells to the non-polarized，migratory mensenchymal cells，is a pathophysiological process. According to its biological roles，EMT is divided to three types：Type Ⅰ is concerned with embryonic development and can transit to variable cell types；Type Ⅱ is related to the regeneration of tissue and fibrosis of epithelial tissues and organs such as kidney， liver，lung and bowel；Type Ⅲ is associated with the progression and metastasis of cancer. The signaling pathways controlling EMT contain TGF-β，Wnt，Hh，Notch，NF-κB pathway and so on. A few studies have demonstrated these pathways participating in the EMT pathological process of epithelial ovarian cancer，endometrial cancer and cancer of the cervix. Blocking the pathological process of EMT might become an important means to interfere in malignant biological behaviors of tumor.

Key words: Cell transformation, neoplastic, Neoplasm metastasis, Ovarian neoplasms, Endometrial neoplasms, Uterine cervical neoplasms