Abstract: Recently,an increasing number of studies have found that matrix metalloproteinase (MMPs) are closely related to the severity,diagnosis and prognosis of a variety of diseases. MMPs have therefore also gained increasing attention as a potential biomarker. In this paper,the application of MMPs in the diagnosis of tumors,cardiovascular diseases,inflammatory diseases and neurodegenerative diseases was summarized,and three types of detection methods based on RNA level,protein level and hydrolase activity of MMPs were introduced,which aims to provide some theoretical reference for the study of clinical application of MMPs detection.