Abstract: Flax, a crop of great economic importance, is widely utilized as the most abundant source of alpha-linolenic acid and lignans. Many studies have reported that flaxseeds have many functions such as lowering blood lipid and blood glucose and improving insulin resistance and therefore have been of great interest to researchers. In this paper, the biological effects of flaxseeds on glucose and lipid metabolism are reviewed and the possible molecular mechanisms are analyzed so as to provide a reliable basis for applying flaxseeds in the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases such as obesity, hyperlipidemia and diabetes mellitus.

Key words: flaxseed, glycolipid metabolism, molecular mechanism