摘要The genus Hippocampus is a multi-origin animal species with high medicinal and healthcare values.About 57 species of Hippocampus spread worldwide,of which about 14 species can be used as medicine,showing anti-oxidation,anti-inflammation,anti-depressant,anti-hypertension,anti-prostatic hyper-plasia,antivirus,anti-apoptotic,antifatigue,and so on.And those pharmacological effects are mainly related to their active ingredients,including amino acids,abundant proteins(peptides and oligopeptides),fatty acids,nucleosides,steroids,and other small molecular compounds.The main means of authentica-tion of Hippocampus species are morphological identification,microscopic identification,thin layer chro-matography method,fingerprint method and genomics method.This review will provide useful insight for exploration,further study and precise medication of Hippocampus in the future.