Abstract: The chrysanthemum， a medicine-food homology plant， has various chemical composition and pharmacologic activities. The chemical composition of chrysanthemum contain essential oils， flavonoids， chlorogenic acid， alkaloid， polysaccharides， amino acids and others. Modern pharmacological researches manifest that chrysanthemum has the multiple activities， such as anticancer， antioxidant， antiinflammatory， antivirus， antimicrobial effects and so on. In addition， it has effects on cardiovascular system， immune system and nervous system. Essential oils， one of the most significant elements， are testi? fied as anticancer potentiality. The anticancer efficacy of the main composition of chrysanthemum essential oils such as elemene， parthenolide and others are summarized， to make clear the anticancer potentiality.

Key words: chrysanthemum, essential oils, terpenes, anticancer, parthenolide, β-elemene