Background: Biomedical imaging is one of the important investigation processes for human diseases, especially in cancer diagnosis. Along with conventional light microscopic techniques, there are some high performance imaging systems are being used for cancer diagnosis, such as phase contrast microscopy, Optical coherence tomography, magnetic resonance imaging. But still these imaging modalities suffer from several limitations and medical facilities, research institutions started to use more specific and advanced microscopic techniques like, multi-photon fluorescence microscopy, Coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering microscopy, second harmonic generation microscopy, third harmonic generation microscopy, etc. which are referred as non-linear optical microscopy.Methods: Literature searches from PubMed and google scholar related to recent development of non-linear optical microscopies and their applications on cancer diagnosis were chosen in this review.Results: After reviewing 93 related article, it was found that non-linear optical microscopies are playing a key role in the precise, rapid diagnosis, staging of different types of cancer. Conclusions: Non-linear optical microscopic modalities are not only limited to image the cancerous tissues, but also have the potential for commercialized non-invasive, real time endoscopic and laparoscopic diagnosis of cancer. If so, the physician could use these modalities for early diagnosis, surgery, and treatment. Thus way non-linear optical microscopic techniques could pioneer in cancer imaging area.