Abstract: Plants are often exposed to various abiotic stresses during their growth，such as drought，high salinity，and extreme temperatures，which have a serious impact on crop yields and ecological adaptation. Very-long-chain fatty acids （VLCFAs） function as essential substrates for synthesis of many important substances，which regulate normal phystological activities of plant growth and development by modulating the lipid composition of membranes，improving the stability of membrane systems，and participating in pathways such as signal transduction and energy metabolism. β-ketoacyl-CoA synthase （KCS） is involved in the condensation reaction of VLCFAs，which is decisive for the length of VLCFA carbon chain. In recent years， with the integrated application of multi-omics technologies， research on the functions of KCS family members has expanded from model plants to non-model plants. This article reviewed some KCS family genes cloned in plants such as Arabidopsis thaliana， cotton， tomato， and rice， analyzed the regulatory roles of their different genes. By constructing a phylogenetic tree， the KCS gene family was found to exhibit evolutionary conservation across different species. In addition， the article systematically reviewed the roles of KCS in plant growth and development， including regulating fatty acid synthesis and cell membrane structural stability， regulating plant cell wall growth and tissue development， regulating plant energy metabolism and growth， promoting seed growth and development， facilitating leaf growth， and regulating fruit development and ripening； the article also reviewed the role of KCS in plant resistance to abiotic stresses （drought stress， salinity stress， and low-temperature stress）. The regulatory mechanism of the KCS gene family was elaborated： the regulatory effects of KCS on plants were influenced by synergistic effects of transcription factors （such as KNOX4 and MYB）， plant hormones （such as auxin， gibberellin， and abscisic acid）， and environmental factors （such as temperature， salinity， and water）， forming a complex metabolic network. However， current research still faced multiple challenges that urgently needed to be addressed： over-reliance on model plants leads to insufficient functional analysis of KCS in cash crops； as the dynamic regulatory network of KCS was highly complex， the current research was inadequate on its cross-regulatory mechanisms with other metabolic pathways （such as lipoxygenase pathway and sphingolipid metabolism） under environmental stress； in practical application， the gene editing technologies like CRISPR/Cas9 in KCS functional studies were plagued by low targeting efficiency and off-target effects. Based on the aforementioned challenges， future research should advance towards multi-dimensional integration， which seeks to explore the large-scale application pathways of KCS in climate-smart agriculture by constructing dynamic metabolic models of KCS-mediated VLCFAs synthesis. Furthermore， fully unleashing the potential of KCS in crop improvement and green manufacturing requires deepening fundamental research， innovating technological tools， and refining ethical frameworks， expected to provide sustainable solutions for addressing the challenges of global climate change and food security.