Abstract: In the process of development, plants release a large number of volatile organic compounds(VOCs), which are lipophilic compounds with low molecular weight. VOCs are involved in plant signal communication, pollination, biotic and abiotic stress response. As the cause of floral fragrance, VOCs also affect the flavor and quality of fruits and processed products. This paper mainly summarized the VOCs synthetic pathway classification and biosynthesis tissues, catalytic characteristics and factors for its synthesis(genetic background, different growth stages and plant tissues, environmental factor), role and mechanism of stress responsible in plants(direct and indirect defense, improvement of the ability for stress), methods of genetic engineering in the regulation of VOCs(introduction of exogenous gene, improvement the expression of biosynthesis gene and repression of endogenous gene). Meanwhile, this review pointed out the instability of the product and uncertain effect for genetic engineering. Proposed that basic research should be strengthened such as reduction of non-essential VOCs, the mechanism of interaction between VOCs and other secondary metabolites, post-synthesis modification. In addittion, the effect on the quality of agricultural product and the trend for improvement of the ability for stress when taking advantage of VOCs were discussed. Those researches provided theoretical reference for VOCs study and application.