Abstract: Autophagy is called“TypeⅡ Programmed Cell Death” in which the cell digests damaged organelles and molecules with lysosomal system and maintains energy cycling. The dysfunction of autophagy is related to cancer. Ovarian cancer is of great malignance. While most of patients are diagnosed with advanced stage and will eventually relapse，the 5-year survival rate is approximately 20%-25%. It is investigated that autophagy has some connection with the carcinogenesis， prognosis and treatment of ovarian cancer. Some autophagy-related genes such as Beclin 1 were shown downregulated in ovarian cancer tissue， while overexpression of PEA-15， an autophagy-related protein， was reported to be associated with longer survival rate in women with ovarian cancer， and thus to be a potentially promising prognostic biomarker. The role of autophagy in the management of ovarian cancer is still debating. This review aims to address the progression of autophagy in ovarian cancer.

Key words: Autophagy, Ovarian neoplasms, Carcinoma, Lysosomes