Abstract: Lichens are a world-wide spread consortium of fungal and photosynthetic partners. Lichens produce a wide array of both primary and secondary metabolites (lichen substances). The lichen substances may be classified into the following groups: aliphatic lichen substances, aromatic lichen substances and carbohydrates (polysaccharides). Lichen metabolites exert a wide variety of biological actions including antibiotic, antimycobacterial, antiviral, antiinflammatory, analgesic, antipyretic, antiproliferative and cytotoxic effects. This paper mainly reviews research progress of studies on biological activities of lichens secondary metabolites including chemistry of lichen substances, the possible roles of lichens secondary metabolites in nature and biological activities of lichens secondary metabolites particular attention is paid to some secondary metabolites of lichens, focusing on a number of its biological activities in different fields.

Key words: lichen, mycobiont, secondary metabolites, biological activities