Objective In order to promote the understanding of health function evaluation and the transformation and application of scientific research results， explore how to enhance the scientificity and preciseness of health function evaluation， and provide certain suggestions for health food development and evaluation system improvement.Methods Current status of health function management was introduced， relevant on health function regulations in China were sorted out， the role and requirements of scientific literature and functional experiments in health function evaluation were explained， common problems， misunderstandings， and typical cases in health function evaluation practice were collected and analyzed.Results In view of existing problems in literature types and forms， material comparability， indicator correspondence， dosage calculation， target population extrapolation， and compatibility necessity， strategies for function evaluation and research were brought forward， key points for scientific research evidence collection， screening， analysis and evaluation were proposed， future trends of health function evaluation were also proposed for discussion.Conclusion Development and evaluation of health functions require accurate understanding of regulatory requirements and focus on the quality of scientific evidence， which should be used as the basis for health function and product development and design.