The second half of the 20th century has seen a sharp worldwide decline in both the incidence and mortality of gastric cancer. Despite this, gastric cancer is the most common cause of mortality in the world. It is closely related to the commonly asymptomatic course at the beginning and delayed diagnosis. Approximately 90‑97% of stomach cancers are adenocarcinomas, which may be subdivided histologically into two categories - intestinal type, and diffuse type. Cancer metastasis is a complex multi‑step process that is closely associated with tumor phenotype. The most important steps in the metastasis process are proteolytic activity, migration, adhesion, proliferation, and neovascularization. In this review we focus on mechanisms regulating gastric cancer metastasis.