Recently,emulsion gels,the unique three-dimensional network structure,have been widely used in food,pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries,which can protect bioactive ingredients,control the releasing of flavor and replace solid fat.As a natural plant protein,the emulsion gels made of soy protein have the advantages of good stability and high encapsulation efficiency,which can be used as a carrier for embedding and sustained releasing of bioactive substances.However,there are certain limitations in the preparation of emulsion gels made of individual soy protein formed by different processing methods,such as heating and enzymatic treatment.Thus,it is necessary to build a more stable and compact emulsion gels system combined with other natural polymers.This review introduces the preparation and formation mechanism of emulsion gels based on soy protein and its composite matrix.The effects of its internal and external factors,such as different gel compositions,particle size heating and pH,on its functional properties of soy protein emulsion gels are also in detailed.The application of soybean protein emulsion gels in food industry is summarized,which aims to provide theoretical basis for the development of industrialization development of soybean protein emulsion gels.