Due to the unique chemical structure， saponins have shown many physiological effects such as anti-tumor， anti-inflammatory， immune regulation， antiviral， liver protection， et al.， and have been widely used in the field of food and medicine. Meanwhile， as everyone knows that protein is an important part of various food systems. The interaction between saponin and protein can change the structure and function of protein， and then affects the quality of food， which has aroused widespread concern in academic circles. In this paper， the mechanism， influencing factors， and analysis methods of the interaction， as while as the effects of the interaction on protein structure and functional properties are reviewed in order to provide a theoretical basis for the influence of saponin and protein interaction in complex food systems.