The phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase(PI3K) pathway is frequently activated in human cancers.Class I PI3 Ks are lipid kinases that phosphorylate phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate(PIP2) at the 3-OH of the inositol ring to generate phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate(PIP3), which in turn activates Akt and the downstream effectors like mammalian target of rapamycin(m TOR) to play key roles in carcinogenesis. Therefore, PI3 K has become an important anticancer drug target, and currently there is very high interest in the pharmaceutical development of PI3 K inhibitors. Idelalisib has been approved in USA and Europe as the first-in-class PI3 K inhibitor for cancer therapy. Dozens of other PI3 K inhibitors including BKM120 and ZSTK474 are being evaluated in clinical trials. Multifaceted studies on these PI3 K inhibitors are being performed, such as single and combinational efficacy, resistance, biomarkers,etc. This review provides an introduction to PI3 K and summarizes key advances in the development of PI3 K inhibitors. The phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway is frequently activated in human cancers. Class I PI3 Ks are lipid kinases that phosphorylate phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2) at the 3-OH of the inositol ring to generate phosphatidylinositol 3,4, 5-trisphosphate (PIP3), which in turn activates Akt and the downstream effectors like mammalian target of rapamycin (m TOR) to play key roles in carcinogenesis. Thus, PI3 K has become an important anticancer drug target, and currently there is very high interest in the pharmaceutical development of PI3 K inhibitors. Idelalisib has been approved in USA and Europe as the first-in-class PI3 K inhibitor for cancer therapy. Dozens of other PI3 K inhibitors including BKM120 and ZSTK474 are being evaluated in clinical trials. Multifaceted studies on these PI3 K inhibitors are being performed, such as single and combinational efficacy, resistance, biomarkers, etc. This review provides an introduction to PI3 K and summarizes key advances in t he development of PI3 K inhibitors.