Objective To summarize the advance of bioenergetic metabolic mechanisms of cancer cell. Methods Literatures about the recent studies on the bioenergetic metabolic mechanisms of cancer cell were reviewed.Results Cancer cells required a steady source of metabolic energy in order to continue their uncontrolled growth and proliferation. Accelerated uptake of glucose and glycolysis was one of the biochemical characteristics of hypoxia cancer cells. Glucose transport and metabolism were essential for the survival of tumor cells, leading to poor prognosis. Conclusions The studies on relationships between hypoxia-inducible genes and cancer have come a new understanding of the bioenergetic metabolic mechanisms of cancer cell, become new and important supplementary means of diagnosis and treatment of cancer, and enhanced existing strategies so that the treatment could be more rationally applied and personalized for cancer patients.