Anesthesia is indispensable for surgery, but a growing number of studies have confirmed its toxic effects on the developing nervous system, and has attract increasing attentions from the scientific community. In this review, we briefly introduce the preclinical and clinical studies on the neurotoxic effects of anesthetic drugs on the developing brain, and summary the mechanisms from the aspects of molecular mechanisms (Ca2+ homeostasis, tau phosphorylation and m6A modification), subcellular structure (synaptic plasticity and mitochondrial dysfunction), neuroapoptosis and brain function, so as to provide a basis for guiding the use of anesthetics in clinical practice and improve the safety of infant anesthesia.