Abstract: In our country, rosin is an important natural renewable resource which has been widely used in various fields. A series of bioactive rosin-based derivatives with unique substituents and functional groups can be prepared through the reaction of carboxyl group and hydrogenated phenanthrene ring. The derivatives are widely used in antimicrobial, anti-virus, anti-tumor, weeding, insecticide and other fields. In this paper, the related researches on the bioactivity of rosin derivatives were reviewed and summarized. New research ideas on the biological activity of the rosin-based derivatives were prospected.