The melanoma antigen genes(MAGE) were found to express in a variety of tumors of different histological origin. Peptides encoded by the MAGE genes are tumor rejection antigens, which can induce specific cytotoxic T-lymphocytes(CTL) to recognize and kill tumor cells. This lead to the idea of using MAGE genes as the targets for cancer immunotherapy. This article reviews the discovery, development, role, and therapeutic potential of MAGE tumor-associated antigens.