Paclitaxel, a diterpenoid natural product extracted from Taxus plants, has been a widely used and highly demanded plant based anti-tumor drug in clinical practice. With the rapid development of Taxus genome analysis and synthetic biology, in recent years, significant progress has been made in the identification and heterologous reconstruction of key enzymes in the paclitaxel biosynthesis pathway, breaking through the key bottlenecks in paclitaxel biosynthesis research and laying an important foundation for the green and sustainable production of paclitaxel based on the biosynthesis pathway. This article reviews the research progress on the genomic analysis of Taxus, the synthesis strategy of paclitaxel, and the heterologous reconstruction of paclitaxel.