Dendritic cell (DC)-based cancer immunotherapy has been shown to be safe and feasible. In clinical pilot studies, DCs primed with tumor antigens have successfully been used to induce tumor-specific immunity and obtain some clinical responses in cancer patients. Even though many advances have been achieved over the past years, we are still far from a unifying therapy concept. This review will discuss the current research driving the rapidly growing field of DC-based cancer immunotherapy and highlight some recent progress related to critical issues such as DC preparation, choice and loading of antigen, and the route of administration.