<p>Magnetic fluid hyperthermia (MFH) is emerging as a promising cancer treatment strategy, primarily due to its expected minimal side effects when used alone or in conjunction with other therapies. It employs magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) to generate higher than usual physiologic in situ heat under alternating magnetic field (AMF) to kill cancer cells. To date, many different compositions of MNPs under varied AMF parameters have been reported; however, it is desirable that maximum cancer cells undergo apoptosis rather than necrosis to avoid adversity caused by necrotic cell death. This review aims to consolidate various in vitro and in vivo studies reporting the mode of cell death, whether apoptosis or necrosis, subsequent to MFH, utilizing different MNPs’ types and AMF parameters. The expression profile of apoptosis-associated proteins has also been analyzed to predict possible prognostic marker(s) that could facilitate monitoring magnetic fluid hyperthermia progression and its efficacy in clinical set-up.</p> Graphical Abstract <p></p>