Apoptosis is an important means to regulate cell proliferation and maintain homeostasis. Recent researches have shown that the B-cell lymphoma-2 (BCL-2) family not only plays a dominant role in the regulation of normal cell apoptosis, but also plays a crucial role in the formation of tumor genesis, progression and subsequent drug resistance mediated by the escape mode of apoptosis. The phenomenon that BCL-2 family antagonized the apoptosis induced by antitumor drugs and then acquired drug resistance has been reported in the clinical treatment of hematologic lymphatic system tumors, breast cancer, lung cancer, gastric cancer and other diseases. Thus, specific inhibitors targeting anti-apoptotic members of the BCL-2 family have emerged with the development of research. In this paper, we systematically reviewed the regulation of apoptosis mediated by BCL-2 family and the drug resistance mediated by BCL-2 family. Meanwhile, we summarized the research advances of BCL-2 family specific inhibitors to provide new strategy for solving the problems on tumor therapeutic resistance and for finding new therapeutic targets in the future.