Colorectal cancer is one of the common malignant tumors in the world, among which mucinous adenocarcinoma of the large intestine is a unique pathological subtype, accounting for 10%~20% of all colorectal cancer cases. It is characterized by extracellular mucin components accounting for no less than 50% of the tumor volume. This disease has a higher incidence in women and young people, and is often diagnosed at an advanced stage with a high rate of peritoneal metastasis and lymph node infiltration, leading to a poor overall prognosis. Compared with adenocarcinoma, mucinous adenocarcinoma has significant differences in molecular characteristics, which may be related to resistance to adjuvant therapy and poor prognosis, but the pathogenesis has not been clear. Tissue biopsy is the gold standard for diagnosis, while CT, MRI and other imaging modalities also have diagnostic advantages. At present, there is a lack of special clinical guidelines for mucinous adenocarcinoma, and the treatment strategy mostly refers to the scheme of adenocarcinoma, and its efficacy and prognosis are controversial. This article reviews the research progress of mucinous adenocarcinoma in epidemiology, molecular background, diagnosis, treatment, prognosis and the latest research directions, in order to provide references for subsequent basic and clinical research.