Oral cancer has a high incidence and mortality rate globally. Despite theadvances in the diagnosis and prognosis of this disease, a 5 years survivalrate still remains, which makes it necessary to study diagnostic methodscapable to detect the disease in early stages. That is why advances in proteomicsand immunohistochemistry had allowed the identification of variousbiomarkers, including the 18 kDa mitochondrial translocator protein(TSPO), which is involved in some cellular processes, such as cholesteroltransport, cellular proliferation and apoptosis. It has been reported the altered TSPO values in various types of cancer, as well as the presence of TSPO insaliva of subjects with oral cancer, which represents an opportunity to understandthe oral carcinogenic process and identify new alternatives for the diagnosis of thisdisease. The objective of this review is to present theoretical aspects related to TSPOas a biomarker to study in subjects with oral cancer, considering its implication inthe apoptosis mechanism and participation in oxidative stress.