Abstract: Ovarian malignant cancer is the third most common gynecologic cancer. Most ovarian cancers are classified as
“epithelial”and were believed to arise from the surfaceof the ovary. The epithelial to mesenchymal transition is generally considered to be a critical progress in embryogenesis and organ development. Recent researches demonstrated that epithelial to mesenchymal transition was essential to not only for embryogenesis but also for tissue regeneration and wound healing. However， epithelial to mesenchymal transition has a more sinister role in epithelial ovary tumor progression and metastasis.Considerable attention has centred around the mechanistic investigation of epithelial to mesenchymal transition in the epithelial ovary tumor progression and metastasis. In this review，we summarize microenvironment，mircroRNAs and major signaling pathways that participate in the epithelial-mesenchymal transitions during both development and tumor metastasis.

Key words: Epithelial to mesenchymal transition, Epithelial ovary tumor, Ovarian surface epithelial cell, Wnt signal pathway