Abstract: Tea, one of the three largest non-alcoholic beverages in the world, has been drinking for thousands of years. Tea leaves are abundant of tea polyphenol, and has good edible value and medicinal value, thus, it is of great broad development prospects. This paper introduced the structure and properties of tea polyphenols briefly, and summarized the extraction and purification methods and characteristics of tea polyphenols, as well as the research progress of tea polyphenols in anti-oxidation, anti-tumor, anti-radiation and anti-atherosclerosis. Finally, the research prospects of tea polyphenols were prospected, in order to provide a theoretical reference for the research and application of tea polyphenols.