Skin cancer is an important public health issue which is prevailing all over the world, especially in areas which receive sunlight throughout the year. Due to increasing pollution and global warming, a large population has been suffering from this illness. Skin cancer is known as the unwanted and uncontrolled proliferation of skin cells. It is classified as either malignant melanoma skin cancer or non-melanoma skin cancer. Melanoma is responsible for large number of deaths in humans. This review article comprises of a brief account about skin cancer, its types, epidemiology, risk factors, pathogenesis, detection and treatment approaches. The major causative agent found for this underlying disease is exposure to ultraviolet radiation. Other risk factors include aging, genetic factors, weak immunity, family history, etc. These tumors differ in characteristics, thus they can be easily identified physically and can be confirmed through biopsy or histopathologiocal examination. The common treatment approaches for skin cancer are surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapy, herbal medicine, nanotechnology, dermal therapy, etc. Furthermore, early diagnosis plays an important role in curing this disease. The purpose of this paper is to give a thorough understanding of skin cancer and this knowledge is currently the need of the hour so as to reduce mortality and help mankind to combat this disease.