In June 2022, Shenzhen issued a local regulation for medical treatment, in which living wills are concerned for the first time in China. Living wills are conducive to relieving the pain of cancer patients, respecting their life autonomy and reducing the waste of medical resources. However, it is still very hard to promote and implement living wills in the population living with cancer, which was increasing year by year. In this article, we mainly elucidated the concept, theoretical basis and development process of living wills at home and abroad. We then analyzed the research status and influencing factors of the cognition, implementation and efficacy assessment of living wills in cancer patients in our country. Finally, we made ethical thinking about this issue from three different perspectives, that is, cancer patients, family and society, in order to provide reference for formulating related schemes of living wills in cancer patients.