In recent years， an increasing number of evidence has shown that histone deacetylase 6 （HDAC6） plays an important role in central nervous system （CNS） diseases. HDAC6 belongs to the class IIb family of histone deacetylases （HDAC） and is the enzyme with the largest molecular weight in the HDAC family. HDAC6 is mainly localized in cytoplasm and is the only HDAC isoform with two tandem catalytic domains； in addition， HDAC6 contains an SE14 sequence motif （a tetratricopeptide repeat domain containing Glu-Ser）， a ubiquitin-binding zinc finger domain facing its carboxyl terminal， and two conserved nuclear export signal domains in its amino terminal region. HDAC6 has complex functions， including deacetylation， regulation of erroneous protein degradation， intracellular substance transport， and regulation of cellular functions， through various signaling pathways. It plays an important role in various CNS diseases such as Alzheimer's disease， Parkinson's disease， epilepsy， Huntington's disease， acute ischemic stroke， and multiple sclerosis， but due to the complex functions of HDAC6， the role of HDAC6 in CNS diseases remains unclear. This article reviews the currently known research advances in HDAC6 and CNS diseases， so as to provide new ideas and targets for the study and treatment of CNS diseases. ［Journal of International Neurology and Neurosurgery, 2023, 50(3): 84-90］