Skin-penetrating peptides(SPP)are a type of peptide molecules that can promote the passage of drugs or active ingredients through the skin barrier.SPP has good biocompatibility and safety,and can be used to deliver various types of drugs or active ingredients,including small molecule drugs,proteins and nucleic acids.These characteristics make SPP have broad application prospects in the fields of medicine and cosmetics.Global researchers have conducted extensive exploration and experiments on the structure,mechanism,design and application of SPP.According to the source,SPP can be classified into three categories:protein-derived SPP,recombinant-derived SPP,and artificially designed and synthesized SPP.Its osmotic mechanism can be elaborated from the aspects of its action on the stratum corneum and its action on the skin appendages,and its main application modes include four types:the physical mixing of SPP and drugs,the formation of covalent linkage between SPP and drugs,the formation of fusion between SPP and protein drugs,and the modification of drug carriers by SPP.The main application modes include four types:physical mixing of SPP and drug,covalent linkage of SPP and drug,fusion of SPP and protein drug,and modification of drug carrier by SPP.We will review the types of SPP from different sources of SPP,the mechanism of promotion of infiltration and application modes of different SPPs,and analyze the problems in their research and application,in order to provide valuable references for the development and innovation of SPP.