Alison Saunders will no longer be the head of the Crown Prosecution Service from October.
While at the CPS she oversaw justice finally being served in the case of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence.
But in recent months she has faced criticism after several rape trials collapsed due to evidence not being disclosed.
In December 2017, the trials of Isaac Itiary, who was accused of raping a child, and Liam Allan, both collapsed within a week of each other when new evidence came to light.
It later emerged the number of prosecutions in England and Wales that had collapsed because of a failure to disclose evidence had increased by 70% in the last two years.
In June 2015 Ms Saunders' faced calls to resign when her decision not to prosecute Labour peer Lord Janner over claims of historical child sexual abuse was overturned by an independent QC.
The ruling made Ms Saunders the first director of public prosecutions (DPP) to have a major prosecuting decision reviewed and overturned.
Lord Janner's son, Daniel Janner - himself a criminal law QC - criticised the way the CPS dealt with his father's case and said Ms Saunders had been "an appalling DPP" who was "regarded by those in the legal profession as someone who wasn't up to the job".
She described issues with the disclosure regime as "extremely regrettable".
She said the problems with disclosure were a part of a "systemic failing across the justice system" which had been going on "for some years".
Ms Saunders said it was her decision, rather than the government's, to leave the role.
Attorney General Jeremy Wright, who announced her resignation on Sunday evening, said recruitment for her successor would begin later this month.
Analysis
By Lawrence UD, FOW24NEWS
Alison Saunders was dealt a tough hand as head of the Crown Prosecution Service. The service has sustained major cuts that undoubtedly affected the CPS's ability to carry out its role.
However, Ms Saunders' tenure has been dogged by controversies.
They included her being the first DPP to be overruled on a "victim right to review". She decided it was not in the public interest for the late Labour peer Lord Janner to stand trial for alleged sexual abuse because he was suffering from dementia. An independent QC disagreed.
There was bitter press criticism in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal when journalists were prosecuted for paying public officials for leaked information. Nine cases were dropped as the prosecution was scaled back and no journalist was convicted.
More recently a series of rape trials collapsed where the prosecution failed to disclose critical evidence to the defence.
That has led to a review of all rape and serious sexual assault cases, and widespread claims of systemic prosecution failings on disclosure which is a fundamental principle of our fair trial system.
Ms Saunders, who will move to multinational law firm Linklaters, said the role had been a "tremendous privilege" and she was "proud of everything the service has achieved" over the past five years.
"My priority over the next six months is to keep driving improvements in how we work, with a sharp focus on casework quality," she said.
Ms Saunders joined the CPS as a barrister in 1986.
She was named chief crown prosecutor for London and in 2012 oversaw the successful prosecution of two men who killed Mr Lawrence.
The 18-year-old was stabbed to death in an unprovoked and racist attack as he waited at a bus stop in south-east London.
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