Abstract:Astaxanthin is a carotenoid and has numerous physiological functions and higher economic value. But the content of astaxanthin is less in nature and no more than 5 % in Haematococcus pluvialis which is the best biogenetic source of astaxanthin. And because of the thicker cell wall，astaxanthin can not be extracted sufficiently which cause waste of part of astaxanthin. So how to fully extract astaxanthin has become a hot research topic. In this paper，physiological functions and extract methods of astaxanthin，cell disruption technologies of Haematococcus pluvialis will be discussed.