Irisin is mainly a muscle cytokine produced and secreted by muscle cells after exercise, and is also expressed in the adipose tissue, liver, pancreas, testes, stomach, and other tissues. Irisin is derived from the fibronectin type Ⅲ domain containing 5 (FNDC5) through its extracellular fragment proteolytic cleavage and secreted in the peripheral circulation. Irisin converts white adipose tissue into brown adipose tissue, increases mitochondrial metabolism and energy expenditure, ameliorates insulin resistanc, differentiates neural and proliferates osteoblasts through signaling pathways such as MAPK, AMPK, PI3K/Akt and STAT3/Snail. And it is expected to become a new target for the treatment of glycolipid metabolism related diseases.