This review discusses the role of dendritic cell (DC) vaccines in cancer immunotherapy, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses in different solid tumors. DCs are crucial in promoting and coordinating immune responses against tumor antigens, but their function is often impaired in cancer patients due to tumor-induced immunosuppression. DC vaccination (DCV) has shown promise in inducing immune responses, particularly in "hot" tumors with high lymphocyte infiltration and PD-L1 expression, but has had limited clinical impact on patient outcomes in "cold" tumors or those with dysfunctional T-cells. Key factors affecting the efficacy of DCV include vaccine formulation, antigen selection, patient selection, and combination therapies. The review also explores the application of DCV in breast cancer, brain tumors, colorectal cancer, gynecological cancers, melanoma, and urologic tumors, noting that while DCV has shown some benefits, further optimization is needed to enhance its clinical efficacy. Future trends include the use of neoantigens, improved DC subset selection, and combination therapies to overcome the limitations of current DCV approaches.This review discusses the role of dendritic cell (DC) vaccines in cancer immunotherapy, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses in different solid tumors. DCs are crucial in promoting and coordinating immune responses against tumor antigens, but their function is often impaired in cancer patients due to tumor-induced immunosuppression. DC vaccination (DCV) has shown promise in inducing immune responses, particularly in "hot" tumors with high lymphocyte infiltration and PD-L1 expression, but has had limited clinical impact on patient outcomes in "cold" tumors or those with dysfunctional T-cells. Key factors affecting the efficacy of DCV include vaccine formulation, antigen selection, patient selection, and combination therapies. The review also explores the application of DCV in breast cancer, brain tumors, colorectal cancer, gynecological cancers, melanoma, and urologic tumors, noting that while DCV has shown some benefits, further optimization is needed to enhance its clinical efficacy. Future trends include the use of neoantigens, improved DC subset selection, and combination therapies to overcome the limitations of current DCV approaches.