Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are defined as a portion of cancer cells thatare characterized by self-renewal, asymmetric division and multipotential differentiation. CSCs are believed to be the main causes of tumor metastasis, neoplasm recurrence and chemoradiotherapy resistance. CSC supports a new view in ourunderstanding of the cancer, which suggests that only when the "seeds" of cancer are cleared, can cancer radioresistance be effectively overcome. Here we take a look at the primary articles in the literature studying the mechanism of cancer radioresistanceand CSC and summarize them for review.Cited