Ursolic acid is a naturally occurring triterpenoid compound with a wide range of biological activities， such as blood lipids regulation， anti-inflammatory， anti-cancer， anti-oxidation， heart and liver protection， anti-skeletal muscle atrophy， anti-virus， etc. Due to its numerous biological functions， it has become a promising candidate for the prevention and treatment of various diseases. In addition， China has abundant plant resources of traditional Chinese medicine. Ursolic acid can be obtained from many common plants， such as sea buckthorn， lavender and apple peel. Ursolic acid and its synthetic derivatives are also involved in a series of fields related to disease prevention. Therefore， it is very important to explore the functional role of ursolic acid for clinical use. This article summarizes the functional effects of ursolic acid and related mechanisms to provide new ideas for the treatment and prevention of other diseases.