ObjectiveTo summarize value of preoperative inflammatory markers in diagnosis and prognosis of colorectal cancer.MethodThe literatures on the preoperative inflammatory markers in the diagnosis and prognosis prediction of colorectal cancer at home and abroad were searched and reviewed.ResultsThe chronic inflammation might promote the occurrence and development of tumor, the tumor related inflammatory markers could be used for the auxiliary diagnosis and assessment of prognosis, such as the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio, tumor-associated neutrophils, platelet to lymphocyte ratio, Glasgow prognostic score, and C-reactive protein/albumin ratio were obviously correlated with the prognosis of patients with colorectal cancer. What’s more, the D-dimer and fibrinogen to albumin or prealbumin ratio were valuable in the diagnosis and prognosis of colorectal cancer.ConclusionsMore and more inflammatory factors are applied in diagnosis and prognosis prediction of tumors. However, in general, specificity and sensitivity of a single indicator for tumor diagnosis are poor. In future, while studying new inflammatory indicators, diagnosis can be conducted in combination with various indicators, which is expected to improve specificity and sensitivity. Similarly, prognostic efficacy of a single indicator is low, so it can be combined with various indicators to improve prognostic efficacy of patients with colorectal cancer, and Nomogram model can be established to achieve individualized prediction and guide clinical work.