Abstract: Cell-to-cell connections provide conduits for signal exchanges,and play important functional roles in physiological and pathological processes of multicellular organisms.Membrane nanotubes are common long-distance connections between cells,not only transfer molecule signals and mitochondria,but also cooperate with gap junction and other cell-to-cell communications to transfer signals.During the last decade,there are many studies about membrane nanotubes,which focus on the similarities and differences between membrane nanotubes and other cell-to-cell communications,as well as their biological functions.In the present review,we summarized the latest findings about the structural diversity,the similarities and differences in signal transmission with other types of cell-to-cell communications,and physiological and pathological roles of membrane nanotubes.