Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death. Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) accounts for 12.95％ of all lung cancer histological types in 2002. Despite trends toward modest improvement in survival, the outcome remains very poor. Chemotherapy is the cornerstone of treatment in SCLC. More than two-thirds of patients dying of lung cancer in United States are over 65 years old. Elderly patients tolerate chemotherapy poorly and need novel therapeutic agents. Targeted drugs have less toxicity than chemotherapy drugs, but no targeted agents have been approved for use in the treatment of SCLC patients to date. The minority of new targeted agents such as gefitinib, bevacizumab and bcl-2 inhibitors offered a promise of improved outcomes, and negative results were more commonly reported than positive ones. This review focuses on targeted therapy in SCLC.