SOCS3 has significant regulation effects in cell signal transduction pathways, which can be induced by many kinds of cytokines and proinflammatory factors.  After being studied for years, the effect of SOCS3 has become clear in maintaining physiological functions and affecting histopathologic changes in human tissues.  This review presents the role of SOCS3 in the occurrence, development, diagnosis and treatment of human diseases, such as inflammation, virus infection, obesity and tumor.  As abnormal levels or impaired function of SOCS3 were reported in the onset and development of disease, SOCS3 can be considered as a bio-marker to diagnose and predict prognosis of some disorders, and as a therapeutic target for certain diseases.