background Cell death is accompanied by a variety of diseases , it involves a kind of enzyme called DAPK1 which was previously thought to be a tumor suppressor. Nowadays DAPK1 has become more and more important in cell death. Objective DAPK1 is a hot focus because of its close association with cell death,thus knowing the current research and future trend is meaningful. Content This review describes the structure and activity regulation of DAPK1, focusing on its relationship with a variety of objects and their interaction with diseases. Trend As the study getting increasingly deep, DAPK1 will become a new target for the treatment of diseases.