Drug-resistant bacteria have become a serious threat to human health. Polymyxin has shown strong bactericidal activity to some Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics， and has become a last-resort treatment option against a variety of multi-drug resistant bacteria. However， due to the abuse of polymyxin in animal breeding， the drug resistance rate of polymyxin in human population has significantly increased. In order to further understand the mechanism of polymyxin resistance， and to take measures to reduce the incidence of polymyxin resistance in the population， this paper reviewed the progress in research of the antibacterial mechanism of polymyxin， the prevalence of polymyxin resistance in the population， the mechanism of polymyxin resistance， and its transmission mode.