OBJECTIVE To screen specific polypeptide target binding to breast cancer xenografts in vivo from a phage-displayed peptide library in order to provide peptide sequences for breast cancer tumor-targeting diagnosis and therapy.METHODS A mouse model for carrying breast cancer xenografts was established using Tientsin Albinao Ⅱ mice (TAII). A 12-peptide library was biopanned through 4 rounds.Phages were recovered and titrated from tumor xenografts and control tissue (liver). The distribution of phages was detected by immunohistochemical staining.RESULTS Phage homing to breast cancer was enriched through 4 rounds of biopanning, being 14-fold of that recovered from liver tissue. A peptide sequence, ASANPFPTKALL was characterized by randomly picked-up clones which appeared most frequently.Immunohistochemical staining revealed phage localization in cancer xenografts 40 min after injection of the enriched phages.When a specific phage was tested individually, the phage reclaimed from breast cancer xenografts was 14 times as those from control tissues.CONCLUSION Tumor-specific homing peptides may provide an effective tool for breast cancer target therapy. The in vivo phage display selection technique employed in this study was feasible and applicable to screening peptides that home to.breast cells.