Agrobacterium rhizogenes contains Ri plasmid.In nature,when the bacteria infect plant' s wound,they can make the plant generate hairy roots.The article reviewed the character of Agrobacterium rhizogenes,structure and function of Ri plasmid,the mechanism of hairy-root syndrome,the transferring methods,the culture and identification of the hairy roots.It also summarized the application fields that the hairy roots were induced to generate the sub-metabolized materials by agrobacterium rhizogenes.