Abstract: Avian leukosis viruses（ALV） are members of Avian retroviruses, which can induce a variety of neoplastic diseases in chickens, and are one of the vertically transmitted diseases that seriously harm the poultry industry. Unfortunately, there is no effective vaccine or drug for ALV now. The only efficient method to control ALV infection is to eliminate the positive chickens. In this paper, the researching progress on the structure, function and gene variation of different subtypes of Avian leukaemia virus and their receptors in recent years were systematically summarized. In respect of providing a systematical reference for the prevention and treatment of ALV-induced diseases and the breeding of new chicken strains which are resistant to ALV virus induced disease.