Abstract: Multidrug resistance （MDR） is the main reason for the failure of leukemia chemotherapy. Autophagy plays an important role in the regulation of MDR. On one hand, as a mechanism of programmed cell death, autophagy can directly induce the death of MDR cells. On the other hand, protective autophagy induced by different signaling pathways and factors such as Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway and p53 can promote the survival of MDR cells. Therefore, autophagy agonist or autophagy inhibitors combined with chemotherapeutics will be a new strategy for the treatment of leukemia.

Key words: Autophagy, Leukemia, Drug resistance