Abstract:Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) is an important component in signal transduction pathway of MAPK cascade reaction. It is involved in the biotic and abiotic stress responses, hormone responses and also regulating cell differentiation and development processes by transferring internal and external cellular signals. The studies on rice (Oryza sativa L.) MAPK family, such as its structure, mechanism, classification and functions in stress responses and biological processes were reviewed, it can provide the references for the further studies and application of rice MAPK.