Neurodegenerative diseases， such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease， are characterized by the progressive loss of neurons and are mainly observed in the elderly. The incidence rate of neurodegenerative diseases is increasing year by year， which brings heavy burden to the society and families. Catalpol is an active ingredient extracted from Chinese herbal medicine， and a large number of experimental studies in vivo and in vitro have confirmed that catalpol has various functions such as anti-inflammatory， antioxidant， anti-apoptosis， angiogenesis-promoting， and neuroprotective functions and plays an important role in the prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. Therefore， catalpol may become an ideal therapeutic drug for neurodegenerative diseases. This article reviews the mechanism of action of catalpol in neurodegenerative diseases.