In recent years, insulin and insulin-like growth factor have been widely used in the diagnosis, condition evaluation, treatment monitoring, and prognosis judgment of various clinical diseases. It has important clinical potential value to study the molecular mechanism related to insulin and insulin-like growth factor. It has been proved that insulin and insulin-like growth factor are closely related to the occurrence and development of cancer, diabetes, and aging. In this paper, the research progress of insulin and insulin-like growth factor is further elaborated, and the mechanism of action of insulin and insulin-like growth factor and the prospect of clinical application in the future are discussed. © Science Printers and Publishers, Inc.