Lipid has good biocompatibility and bioavailability， and is an important component in the development of new functional food. Nanostructured lipid carrier is a new type of lipid nano carrier developed on the basis of solid nano liposome， which can effectively alleviate the stability and controlled release of bioactive substances with poor biocompatibility. In this paper， the morphology， characterization， preparation materials and methods of nanostructured lipid carriers were reviewed， and the research progress in the field of food was summarized， which provided reference and theoretical basis for further research on nanostructured lipid carriers.