Abstract: Plants from the genus Amomum（Zingiberaceae）are widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions,and most of them can be used as traditional Chinese medicine.Due to structural diversity and various pharmacology activities such as gastrointestinal protection,antioxidation,hypoglycemic action,anti-inflammation,anti-anaphylaxis,antibiosis,hepatoprotective effect and Alzheimer's protection,it is considered as a kind of plants with great utilization value.Through referring to domestic and foreign journals and databases in the recent ten years,the chemical compositions and pharmacological effects were systematically reviewed in this paper,which would provide a basis for more reasonable development and comprehensive utilization of the Amomum plant resources.

Key words: Amomum, chemical constituents, pharmacological activities, research progress