E-cadherin is a transmembrane glycoprotein which connects epithelial cells together at adherens junctions. In normal cells, E-cadherin exerts its tumour suppressing role mainly by sequestering β-catenin from its binding to LEF （Lymphoid enhancer factor）/TCF （T cell factor） which serves the function of transcribing genes of the proliferative Wnt signaling pathway. Despite the ongoing debate on whether the loss of E-cadherin is the cause or effect of epithelial-mesenchymal transition （EMT）, E-cadherin functional loss has frequently been associated with poor prognosis and survival in patients of various cancers. The dysregulation of E-cadherin expression that leads to carcinogenesis happens mostly at the epigenetic level but there are cases of genetic alterations as well. E-cadherin expression has been linked to the cellular functions of invasiveness reduction, growth inhibition, apoptosis, cell cycle arrest and differentiation.