Abstract: Caffeic acid and its derivatives are secondary metabolites which widely distributed in plants.They are widespread in foods,such as fruits,vegetables,grains,etc.,these active ingredients were also found in some natural medicines,such as the water-soluble salvianolic acids in Salvia miltiorrhiza Bge. ,ferulic acid,caffeic acid in Angelica sinensis,chlorogenic acid in Lonicera japonica.In recent years,the bioactivities of coffee acid and its derivatives have attracted wide attention,and its new biological activities are constantly being discovered.As common secondary metabolites in plants,caffeic acid and its derivatives are rich in resources.However,their utilization is not effective enough,some plants contened caffeic acid and its derivatives had not been fully utilized.The purpose of this article is to summarize the domestic and foreign researches of caffeic acid and its derivatives in recent years,the relationship between bioactivity and structure activity of these metabolites will be discussed to analyze its development and utilization prospects.

Key words: caffeic acid, derivatives, biosynthesis pathway, bioactivity, structure activity relationship, development prospects