Abstract: At present，a lot of aquaporins（AQPs）have been found in archaea，bacteria，fungi，animals and plants，but relatively few studies on aquaporins of lower plants have been carried out，especially on the algae. It is well known that there is a great difference in the growth environment between algae and terrestrial higher plants，naturally the functional mechanisms of aquaporins between them differ. The entire growth and development process of algae are closely related to water conduction，and the aquaporins in algae are not only the water transport channel but also a type of multifunctional proteins，for instance physiological and biochemical functions. Compared with the plant aquoporins，the studies on algal aquaporins were initiated later. Since the identification of the first algal aquaporin from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii in 2004，increasingly researchers began to focus on the aquaporins in algae. In recent years，on the basis of the complete genome sequences of some algae，researchers have made some new progresses in the exploration of algal aquaporins. Moreover，eight different subfamilies of algal aquaporins have been identified；and in the last two years，researchers have also found some new algal aquaporins from the Chlamydomonas sp. ICE-L，Sargassum fusiforme and Pyropia yezoensis. This paper summarizes the research advances on the classification and structure of algal aquaporins，and expounds the specific expression and physiological functions of aquaporins when the algae are in a stress environment while combined with several newly discovered algal aquaporins. This study will provide a theoretical basis for further studies on algal aquaporins

Key words: algae, aquaporin, subfamilies, structural characteristics, physiological function