Abstract:Foodborne protease inhibitors （FPI）can be found from a variety of resources，and can be divided into many groups；furthermore，it is of great significance to understand the relationship between their specific structures and physiological functions.The resource，the classification and the functional mechanism of FPIs were summarized；in addition，three kinds of FPIs，including Bowman-Birk type，Kunitz type and Kazal type FPI，were explicated in detail，which involved the explanation of their resources and structural difference；these mentioned FPIs of three kinds not only regulated the proteolysis process of the biological organism，also had physiological functions such as body defensive regulation，anti -tumor function，anti -inflammation function，anti-coagulation function，and prevention of obesity.