Abstract: Colorectal cancer has become a serious threat to human health. In 2012, there were about 1.36 million new cases of colorectal cancer, which was the third high incidence of malignant tumors in the world, ranking No. 3 in males and No. 2 in females; there were about 690 000 death cases, ranking No. 4 in malignant tumors. In china, the number of new cases of colorectal cancer had exceeded 270 000, and death more than 130 000 in 2010. The incidence and mortality of colorectal cancer in the world are increased with time, and the overall trend is higher in males than that in females, higher in developed regions than that in less developed regions, higher in urban areas than that in rural areas. In developed countries, the onset age of ≥90% patients is≥50 years old, but in developing countries the onset age is younger. This article reviews the latest data on the epidemiological status of colorectal cancer in the world, in order to provide the cause evidence and theoretical support for future control strategies of colorectal cancer.