Background In recent decades, the glucocorticoids has been used widely to treat acute or chronic pain. Recent research finds that glucocorticoid receptors are involved in pain signal pathways through many mechanisms. Objective To better understand the intracellular analgesia mechanism of glucocorticoid and guide its clinical applications. Content This article summarizes the roles of glucocorticoid in inhibiting the production of inflammatory factors and pain transmitters, discusses its impacts on the receptors related with pain and its suppression of opioid tolerance. Trend At present, there are some diputes in glucocorticoid research. It’s one of the targets of basic research to study the special mechanism of glucocorticoid underlying pain signal pathways.