Abstract: Literature survey showed that dietary fiber had many healthy physiological functions,such as weight control,improvement of the intestinal functions and cleaning of toxic substances etc. In China,there were plenty of natural resources which were available for the development of dietary fiber. R&D on dietary fiber products with high biological activity become a hot spot for scientists in recent years. In this paper,the process and results presented in the published literatures on preparation,properties determinations and modification of dietary fiber were compared and analyzed. The extraction and decolorization ways of dietary fiber and its characteristics were described. The measurement process and methods for the typical properties of dietary fiber were summarized. The modifications of dietary fiber were summarized. This paper could provide the helps and a good reference for further studies on the following topics,i.e.,optimization of preparation technology,and improvement of the biological activity of products. Finally,the prospect of dietary fiber application was suggested at the end of this paper.