Metastasis associated protein 2 (MTA2) is a member of the transcriptional regulation family that has been discovered recently and is associated with tumor invasion, progression and metastasis, which plays a very important role in tumor proliferation, invasion and distant metastasis. MTA2 is highly expressed in a variety of head and neck malignancies, such as nasopharyngeal carcinoma, oral carcinoma, larynx cancer, esophageal cancer, thyroid cancer, and other malignancies. The high expression of MTA2 is associated with poor prognosis of these malignancies. The relationship between MTA2 and the invasion, progression and prognosis of head and neck malignant tumors has become a new hotspot in the research of head and neck tumors. This paper makes a summary of the structure and function of MTA2, its expression and significance in different head and neck tumors, its possible regulatory mechanism and its research prospect. We hope to provide some help for the follow-up study of MTA2 and the comprehensive diagnosis and treatment of head and neck tumors.