Esketamine shares similar pharmacological characteristics with racemic ketamine. It also overcomes many weaknesses, with higher efficacy, stronger controllability, and fewer side effects, and is expected to gradually replace racemic ketamine preparations in clinical applications. The article introduces the current research progress on the perioperative application of esketamine in obstetric and gynecologic patients at home and abroad, and summarizes the research progress of this drug on spinal anesthesia, general anesthesia, outpatient short surgeries, daytime surgeries, and postoperative analgesia, prevention of shivers, and antagonism against depression in obstetric and gynecologic patients. These findings will provide reference for the more reasonable and safe application of esketamine in clinical practice and facilitate and explore new ideas and research directions for future research.