Abstract: Tea saponin is a kind of natural non-ionic surface activator. It has been applied in many fields such as industry,agriculture and daily chemical. In this paper,the physical and chemical characteristics of tea saponin were briefly introduced,and the research progress of tea saponin extraction technology(water extraction,organic solvent extraction and auxiliary extraction)and biological activity function(hemolysis and fish toxicity,antibacterial,antioxidant,blood pressure lowering and cleaning)were reviewed in detail. The advantages and disadvantages of different extraction processes,the hemolytic objects of tea saponin,and the mechanism and application range of antibacterial,antioxidant and blood pressure lowering were expounded,moreover,the importance of in-depth study on the mechanism of tea saponin action was pointed out,which provided scientific reference for the further research of tea saponin and the effective utilization of tea seed cake.