Abstract: Lactoferrin is an iron-binding glycoprotein produced by mammalian epithelial cells and neutrophils and is one of the bioactive agents. It has a variety of biological activities, including antibacterial, antiviral, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, immune regulation and bone growth.It has been used for some of the treatment of oral diseases, infant formula milk powder nutrition enhancer, natural food preservative, natural cosmetics, also can be used as the prevention and treatment of many difficult diseases auxiliary and synthetic raw material or carrier, is widely used in food, medicine, cosmetics, animal husbandry and aquaculture, and other fields. This paper summarizes the biological activities of lactoferrin function and microbial mechanism of action, and the development and application of lactoferrin are introduced emphatically from the above five areas, to clarify further application prospect of lactoferrin.