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Pembrolizumab, an inhibitor target programmed death 1 (PD-1), was approved into the first line therapy in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). It was a milestone that immune checkpoints drugs have played an important role in the treatment system of NSCLC. The results of clinical trials revealed the superiority of PD-1/programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitors compared with chemotherapy in first-line, second-line and multidrug resistance phase therapy. Objective response rate (ORR) was up to 80% with pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy, and progression-free survival (PFS) with single pembrolizumab in first line was nearly 1 year (10.3 months), the hazard ratio for death fell by 40%. Overall survival (OS) was more or less 1 year with single drug pembrolizumab, nivolumab and atezolizumab for second line therapy. PD-L1 expression was a predictor of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors. The positive rate of PD-L1 (more than 1%) in advanced NSCLC was about 60% with little difference between the tissue types. However, there was no gold standard test of PD-L1 expression.