Abstract: Effect of postmortem aging on meat quality is one of the focuses in the field of meat science,but there are still academic differences about myofibril protein degradation mechanism during postmortem aging. Heat shock proteins( HSPs) can be activated in the condition of ischemia and hypoxia after slaughter. HSPs can affect meat quality during postmortem aging because they can act as chaperone proteins,anti- apoptotic factors,play a role in maintaining protein structure and stability.At present,the impact of HSPs on meat quality,especially of s HSPs,have been widely reported,however,those conclusions are inconsistent. This review mainly describes several important characteristics of HSPs molecular structure and function,and discusses the relationship between HSPs and meat color,tenderness,water holding capacity during postmortem aging.