With the continuous advancement of global population aging in recent years， brain health has attracted increasing attention. Aging-related diseases represented by neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's affect the brain health of the population domestically and even globally. Sesame lignans are the major functional components in sesame， an ancient and widely cultivated crop. The protective effects of these components on the brain health have received much attention recently. To provide a theoretical basis for the dietary intervention of sesame lignans on brain health， this review summarizes the research progress of sesamin， sesamol， sesamolin， pinoresinol and sesamolinol in the intervention and prevention of a variety of diseases affecting brain health and cognitive impairment， including neurodegenerative diseases， stroke， depression， anxiety and metabolic syndrome-related brain diseases.