Abstract: γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a non-protein amino acid discovered in animals, plants, and microorganisms that was approved as the "new resource food" by the National Health Commission of the People's Republic of China (NHC) in 2009. It has a wide range of applications in food, medicine, feed, and other industries, and the research has grown increasingly popular in recent years. The paper reviews the bio-synthesis and metabolic processes of GABA, summarizes the methods of chemical synthesis, plant enrichment, and present GABA detection techniques, and discusses their advantages and limitations. Furthermore, the main physiological functions and mechanism of GABA are summarized, and GABA’s research and development trend is also presented, in order to provide reference for future research and application of GABA.