Abstract: Reactive oxygen species（ROS） in semen comes from a wide range of sources and is easily affected by external environmental factors. It is easy to generate excessive free radicals to cause oxidative damage to sperm. ROS induces sperm capacitation by promoting tyrosine phosphorylation in proteins, and can induce acrosome reaction and membrane lipid oxidation in sperm. When the generation rate of ROS is greater than the scavenging rate of the antioxidant system, the oxidative capacity of the sperm cells will exceed the total antioxidant capacity, and the peroxidation environment reduces the scavenging capacity of the sperm and causes the sperm to oxidative stress（OS）. This results in lipid peroxidation, DNA integrity damage and accelerated apoptosis of spermatozoa. In this paper, the pathway of ROS production in sperm, the effect of ROS on sperm oxidative damage and capacitivity and the current research status of antioxidants were reviewed, in order to lay a foundation for further research on the protective effect of antioxidants on sperm.