ObjectiveTo review the recent studies about sentinel lymph node biopsy in breast cancer.MethodsThe literatures in recent years on the history, concept, technique and clinical application of sentinel lymph node biopsy were reviewed and summarized.ResultsThere was no unified method for sentinel lymph node biopsy. There was a wide range of detection rate and falsenegative rate.ConclusionProspective multicenter random clinical trials will help to evaluate the clinical application of sentinel lymph node biopsy.