Abstract: Heat shock proteins, or Hsps, are a small number of highly conserved protein synthesized in cultured cells or whole organisms, which exposed to elevated temperatures. It has been observed in every organism in which it has been sought, from prokaryote to eukaryote . This paper briefly reviews recently studies and focus on the traits of the major hsps family, cohorts assisting hsps , regulation of heat shock gene expression, and the possibility of signal transduction pathways. And then analyses the functions of hsps with regard to being molecular chaperone, inducing thermotolerance and stabilizing cytoskeleton. Aging and evolutional importance, biomarker and therapeutic application of Hsps are also discussed.

Key words: stress protein, hsp, heat shock gene, Drosophila, insect