The need to synthesize an effective anticancer drug with minimal side effects has been the aim and concern of the researchers around the world. Cytotoxicity and selectivity are the two important factors of an anticancer drug and the current clinically approved drugs such as cisplatin, oxaloplatin and carboplatin have low cytotoxicity and selectivity towards cancer cells. In the recent times, transition metal based scaffolds other than platinum have gained a lot of attention. In this regard, iridium based complexes have been promising anticancer scaffolds. In this review we summarize the recent advances in iridium complexes as anticancer agents based on their cytotoxicity results. © 2020 Elsevier B.V.