The invention provides application of hypoxanthine, hypoxanthine riboside, xanthine, xanthosine or any combination thereof in preparation of medicines for treating tumors, and belongs to the technical field of medicines. The invention further comprises application of a combination of the hypoxanthine, the hypoxanthine riboside, the xanthine, the xanthosine or any combination of the hypoxanthine, the hypoxanthine riboside, the xanthine and the xanthosine and one or more of a human basic group, nucleoside or deoxynucleoside. The hypoxanthine, the hypoxanthine riboside, the xanthine, the xanthosine or any combination thereof can be applied to chemical treatment of malignant tumors of liver cancer, lung cancer, esophagus cancer, gastric cancer, colon cancer, pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer, leukemia, promyelocytic leukemia, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, cervical cancer or T-cell lymphoma and the like, has an obvious antitumor effect, is free of myelosuppression or an important organ damage at a normal dosage, and has the antitumor effects of high efficiency, broad spectrum and low toxicity.