The active compounds in sea buckthorn such as flavonoids, polyphenols, polysaccharides, vitamins, unsaturated fatty acids were introduced in this review, and their physiological functions such as anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, immune regulation, anti-aging and anti-oxidation were discussed. Moreover, the problems faced during the development of sea buckthorn products, and the relative solutions were also summarized. This can help the development of sea buckthorn as functional products such as juice, wine, sea buckthorn oil, Jiaosu and yogurt, and contribute to improving the utilization value of various active compounds in sea buckthorn.