Oxidative stress has very close relationship with human health, and human organsviolated by oxidative stress is likely to cause a series of physical diseases，such as headache, muscle aches, arthritis, atherosclerosis, diabetes, heart disease, cancer and neurodegenerative problem. However the flavonoids which widely exist in fruits, vegetables and other plant foods have a very significant role in the fight against oxidative stress, this is largely because it can activate the Nrf2-ARE which is the critical defense signaling pathway and regulating many antioxidant gene expression. In this paper, introduced the activation of Nrf2-ARE signaling pathway, the related signaling pathways of regulating Nrf2-ARE activation, the downstream genes regulated by Nrf2-ARE, and the influence of the Nrf2-ARE applied to inflammatory and apoptosis reaction. Meanwhile reviewed the research progress of eight kinds of flavonoids on the Nrf2-ARE signaling pathway and put forward the main scientific problems and solution strategy of the present study to provide reference for study of flavonoids in the field of prevention and treatment of oxidative stress-related diseases.