The cancer stem cell (CSC) hypothesis has captured the attention of many scientists because the elimination of CSCs is considered possible to eradicate the whole cancer. CSC surface markers provide molecular targeted therapies for the origins of cancer by using therapeutic antibodies. Various CSC surface markers have been identified and published. Interestingly, most of the markers used to identify CSCs are derived from the surface markers present on human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) or adult stem cells. In this review, we classify currently known 40 CSC surface markers into 3 different categories in terms of their expression in hESCs, adult stem cells, and normal tissue cells. Approximately 73% of current CSC surface markers appear to be present on embryonic or adult stem cells, and they are rarely expressed on normal tissue cells. The rest of the CSC surface markers are considerably expressed even in normal tissue cells, although some of them have been extensively validated as CSC surface markers by many research group. We discuss the significance of the categorized CSC surface markers and provide insight into why surface markers on hESCs will be an attractive source to find novel surface markers on CSCs.