Ergothioneine (ERG) is a kind of sulfur-containing amino acid existing in nature.It has been widely used in food,medicine,cosmetics and other fields in recent years for the reasons that it has strong ability of scavenging free radicals,anti-aging and the characters of natural,safe,non-toxic.As a natural and efficient antioxidant,ergothioneine plays an important role in the prevention and treatment of diseases related to oxidative stress.This paper reviewed the structure,properties and antioxidant properties,as well as progress in search of the role and mechanism of ergothioneine in the intervention of diseases related to oxidative stress,which provides a reference for the multiple application of ergothioneine.