乳清蛋白富含多种生物活性成分，并且已被证明具有增强免疫、抗细菌病毒、抗癌、抗糖尿病、缓解肌肉损失和保护皮肤等多种功能特性。但其作为一种能够促进人体健康的优质膳食蛋白质，在保健食品的应用上却表现出产品种类单一和创新性不足的特点。因此，本文对乳清蛋白的成分、消化、吸收、代谢、功能及其在我国保健产品上的应用进行较为系统和全面的综述。以期进一步深化大众对乳清蛋白营养价值的认识，拓宽乳清蛋白作为保健产品的适用范围，促进其在功能性食品和临床配方上的应用，从而推动国民健康产业的高质量发展。

Whey protein contains a wide range of bioactive components and has been found to have various functional properties including immunoenhancing, antibacterial, antiviral, anticancer, antidiabetic, muscle loss-preventing, and skin-protecting effects. However, as a high-quality dietary protein that can benefit human health, its application in health foods is restricted by particular product types and insufficient innovation. Therefore, this article provides a systematic and comprehensive review of the composition, digestion, absorption, metabolism, and functions of whey protein and its application in health products in China. This review hopes to improve the public’s understanding of the nutritional value of whey protein, broaden its application scope as a health product, and promote its applications in functional foods and clinical formulations and consequently the high-quality development of the health industry.