Non-targeted conventional chemotherapeutic drugs，which have been widely used for a long time as conventional treatments for cancer，have been confirmed with senescence effects. In normal cells，senescence in⁃dicates permanent cell cycle arrest，which is irreversible. However，in immortalized cells such as cancer cells，due to the incomplete senescence induced by chemotherapy or the adaptability of tumors，some cancer cells can tempo⁃rarily stop proliferating in the form of dormant bodies，and thereby escape from chemotherapy-induced senescence and evolve into cancer cells with greater migration and invasion ability，which is called a“tumor cell escape from se⁃nescence”. Therefore，investigating the senescence effect of chemotherapeutic drugs is of great significance for can⁃cer treatment. This article reviews the significance of chemotherapeutic drugs in inducing the senescence of normal cells and tumor cells，summarizes the mechanism of tumor cell escape from senescence，points out the current appli⁃cations and limitations of senescent cell scavengers in tumors，and prospects the use of senescent cell scavengers in tumor treatment.