Abstract: The olfaction has many important effects on insect behavior，including habitat choosing，food hunting，gathering，tropism，reproduction，signal communication，etc. In order to control the pest more efficiently，it is necessary to explore and understand the mechanism and signal transduction pathway of insect olfaction. Olfactory receptor (OR)，as a kind of G protein-coupled receptors，is a key component of the olfactory system. In recent years，more attention is being paid toOR. In this mini-review article，we summarized the process of insect olfaction，the structure and expression regulation of receptor genes，the molecular structure，function and distribution of receptor proteins，and the study of some related ligands.

Key words: Olfactory receptor, insect olfaction, G protein-coupled receptor, olfactory neuron, odorant, ligand