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In recent years, the self\u2010assembly of AuNPs has emerged as a versatile strategy to meet increasing demands for signal amplification, drug delivery, and therapeutic activation by regulating interparticle spacing and spatial configuration. Compared with dispersed AuNPs, self\u2010assembled AuNPs significantly enhance near\u2010infrared absorption, photothermal conversion efficiency, and multimodal imaging performance, while improving tumor retention, deep penetration, and tumor microenvironment (TME)\u2010responsive behaviors. This review systematically reviews current driving forces for the self\u2010assembly of AuNPs, including hydrophobic interaction, host\u2013guest interaction, hydrogen bonding, and electrostatic interaction, and focuses on summarizing the latest progress of self\u2010assembled AuNPs for cancer imaging and treatment. 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