Abstract: Coumarins are widely distributed in the plant kingdom, which have the wide range of biological activity,such as anticancer,antimicrobial,antivirus and antioxidant activities. Research on natural coumarins was a recently very active topic and had made remarkable progress. In this paper,the varieties and distribution,extraction, isolation and purification methods of natural coumarins were summarized with the aims of providing a basis for the development and utilization of natural coumarins,and promoting industrial development.