Dairy products， as a food with almost perfect nutritional value， are indispensable to humans. However， the high content of fat in dairy products may have adverse effects on human health. With the increasing awareness of health， people have started to consume low-fat or low-fat foods as a way of life. Therefore， fat substitutes， which can maintain the delicious taste of dairy products and related functional properties such as texture and rheological properties， and can reduce fat content， have emerged， which has a very broad market prospect. The classification and preparation of fat substitutes， the research progress of their role and application in the field of dairy products were reviewed， which provided theoretical support for the research of new dairy fat substitutes. And the research direction and prospect of fat substitutes in the dairy market were discussed.