Tanshinone IIA is a derivative of phenanthrene-quinone isolated from Danshen, a widely used Chinese herbal medicine. It has antioxidant properties and cytotoxic activity against multiple human cancer cell lines, inducing apoptosis and differentiation of some human cancer cell lines. It was found, that tanshinone IIA might have potential anticancer activity on breast cancers through upregulation and downregulation of multiple genes involved in cell cycle regulation, cell proliferation, apoptosis, signal transduction, transcriptional regulation, angiogenesis, invasive potential and metastatic potential of cancer cells. ADPRTL1 might be the main target at which tanshinone IIA acted. Recently was discovered that tanshinone IIA exerts its cardio protective effects against H2O2-induced cell death by upregulating the expression of Bcl-2 via the activation of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, however, further studies are required in order to define and clarify the rationale for its clinical use.