Abstract: OBJECTIVE The research progress of antibacterial activity and toxicity for all kinds of dendrimers were summarized to provide a reference for further development and application of this kind of material. METHODS Literatures related with antibacterial effect of dendrimers from all over the world, were collected, analyzed and summarized. RESULTS Many classes of dendrimers, including glycodendrimers, cationic dendrimers, petide-based dendrimers and anionic dendrimers, show strong antimicrobial activity with wide antimicrobial spectrum, which also have good biocompatibility and do not induce bacteria resistance easily compared with traditional antibiotics. CONCLUSION Dendrimers is a potential kind of antibacterial candidates which can be used as antibacterial agents and coating materials with a broad application prospect.