Abstract: Polysaccharides extracted from red algae are important natural bioactive ingredients with many biological activities,such as anti-inflammatory,anticoagulant,antitumor and antiviral etc. In recent years,red algal polysaccharides have gained much attention by many researchers. In this review,the research progress on biological activities of red alga such as anti-virus,anti-inflammatory,anticoagulant,regulation of lipid metabolism and hypoglycemic are summarized,in addition,the application of red algal polysaccharides in food,medicine and cosmetics is described. This work would provide reference for the development and utilization of red algal polysaccharides.