Abstract: Objective Explore the current status of massive open online courses (MOOCs) in the field of medical education. Methods Select ‘MOOCs’ and ‘medical education’as the key words to review the experiences of MOOCs applied to medical students, medical examinations and new medical teaching way in the global field of medical education from PubMed, CNKI, Google Scholar and Coursera et al. Results So far there are limited experiences of MOOCs applied to medical courses in global medical colleges. In theory as well as in practice, MOOCs used in medical education need to be further explored. Conclusion As a new way of teaching, MOOCs should be recognized and promoted in modern medical education.

Key words: Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), medicine, education