Abstract: Milk is regarded as food close to perfection. It is not only excellent source of protein and high in energy,but also rich in substances with various biological activities. In this paper we summarized the recent progress on antimicrobial substances in human breast milk,mainly focused on milk protein and peptides with antimicrobial properties. The aim of this review is to enlarge the knowledge of milk-derived bioactive substances and to promote the application of milk derived antimicrobial agents in food industry.