Abstract: There has been a long history for the research on the human milk and the components in the breast milk. With the considerable advances of our understanding in the bioactive components in human milk, it has been recognized that milk not only provides protection against pathogens, but also facilitates immune development and an appropriate immune response in infants. Human milk is the transfer of maternal immune system from mothers to infants. The physiological and protective functions can be deduced from a great deal of studies not only in infants but in other species and in vitro models. The paper reviews the immune components in human milk and immune development in infants and focuses on the current advances on how the‘ traditional’ immune and nonimmune components identified in human milk promote immune development of infants and regulate the immune responses in infants.

Key words: human milk, infants, immune, cytokines